Description:
This widely adopted and accessible introductory text for counselors-in-training and emerging researchers provides a foundational understanding of the primary research methods used in counseling and how these concepts can be applied to research design. Writing in a clear and conversational tone, the authors emphasize the importance of ethics and multicultural issues in informing research, demonstrate a professional counselor identity within the framework of research, and outline specific evidence-based and empirically supported findings for counseling practice.
The book contains four parts that explain the practitioner-scholar model and the research process, quantitative and qualitative research methodology and design, and research measurement and program evaluation. Key features include a discussion of the fundamentals of statistics, practical research design illustrations in each chapter, guidelines for the development of an initial study, and suggested activities that synthesize and apply chapter content.
Brief description:
Richard S. Balkin, PhD, is a professor and coordinator of educational research in the School of Education at the University of Mississippi. He is editor of the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling; past editor of the Journal of Counseling & Development, the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association (ACA); and past-president of the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling. His primary research interests include counseling outcomes, research methods, counseling adolescents, and cultural differences in counseling. He is a fellow of ACA, past recipient of the ACA Extended Research Award, ACA Best Practices Research Award, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Legacy Award, and Counseling Vision and Innovation Award.
Rick has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters, the majority quantitative in nature. He is the author of Practicing Forgiveness: A Path Toward Healing (Oxford University Press, 2021) and Assessment in Counseling: Practice and Applications (Oxford University Press, 2018) and has authored book chapters on research methods as well as several journal articles related to research methods.