Table of Contents

Part I: PHILOSOPHICAL, ETHICAL, TRAINING, AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES.
1. Science and Counseling.
2. Research Training.
3. Ethical Issues in Counseling Research.
4. Professional Writing.
Part II: GETTING STARTED: ESTABLISHING THE FOUNDATION FOR A STUDY.
5. Identifying and Operationalizing Research Topics.
6. Choosing Research Designs.
7. Validity Issues in Research Design.
8. Population Issues.
9. Conceptual and Methodological Issues Related to Multicultural Research.
10. Scale Construction.
Part III: MAJOR RESEARCH DESIGNS.
11. True Experimental Designs.
12. Quasi-Experimental and Time Series Designs.
13. Quantitative Descriptive Designs.
14. Analogue Research.
15. Single-Subject Designs.
16. Qualitative Designs.
17. Mixed Methods.
Part IV: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES.
18. Designing and Evaluating the Independent Variable.
19. Designing or Choosing/Selecting the Dependent Variable.
20. Outcome Research: Strategies and Methodological Issues.
21. Design Issues Related to Counseling Process Research.
22. Program Evaluation.
23. Investigator, Experimenter, and Participant Bias.
Appendix A: Ethical Standards of the American Counseling Association.
Appendix B: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.

About the Author

Dr. Bruce E. Wampold (Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara) joined the University of Wisconsin, Madison faculty in 1991. He has been a faculty member and Director of Training in the counseling programs at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Utah, and the University of Oregon. Dr. Wampold's primary interest centers on understanding psychotherapy from empirical, historical, and anthropological perspectives. He has published methodological and substantive articles on how the research on counseling and psychotherapy converges on a contextual model of psychotherapy. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a Diplomate in Counseling Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Jesse Owen (Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, University of Denver) taught at Gannon University and the University of Louisville prior to joining the faculty at the University of Denver. He is a tenured Associate Professor and Training Director in the Counseling Psychology Program. He studies psychotherapy processes and outcomes as well as romantic relationships. More specifically, he specializes in multicultural processes that may influence the process of counseling as well as racial/ethnic disparities in counseling outcomes based on therapists' multicultural competencies. He also investigates couples counseling and other relationship-based methods for improving couples' functioning. He was awarded the Early Career Award in 2012 from APA's Division 29 (Psychotherapy). He also serves as an Associate Editor for three top tier journals (Psychotherapy, Journal of Counseling Psychology, and Archives of Sexual Behavior). Dr. Kenneth T. Wang (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Penn State University) is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was a faculty member in the Counseling Psychology program at University of Missouri from 2009-2014 and a staff psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Counseling Center from 2007-2009. Dr. Wang's primary research focuses on two areas: cross-cultural psychological adjustment and the impact of perfectionism on mental health. Research design, statistical methods, and cultural diversity are his primary areas of teaching. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Asian American Psychological Association, and the Taiwan Psychology Network. Dr. Mindi N. Thompson (Ph.D., Psychology, with concentration in Counseling Psychology, University of Akron) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a registered Health Service Psychologist. Dr. Thompson's scholarship investigates the impact of personal and environmental factors on individuals. Specifically, she examines contextual affordances (e.g., experiences with discrimination), individual difference variables (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, social status), and dispositional characteristics (e.g., affective traits) in two primary domains: (a) educational and career development and (b) mental health and mental health treatment. Dr. Thompson received the Early Career Professional Award in 2014 from the Society of Vocational Psychology and is a member of the American Psychological Association (Division 17, 35), National Career Development Association, Association for Women in Psychology, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Dr. P. Paul Heppner (Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln) holds a Curators Distinguished Professorship -- the highest distinction -- at the University of Missouri and is Director of the Coalition for Cultural Competencies, an organization he co-founded in 1998. He has published over 200 articles/book chapters as well as nine books, made hundreds of presentations at national conferences, and delivered over 100 invited keynotes/presentations in 14 countries. His primary area of research focuses around the role of coping with stressful life events across different cultural contexts. Dr. Heppner is the recipient of three Fulbright awards (Sweden, Ireland, and Taiwan), a Fellow in the American Psychological Association (Divisions 17, 45, and 52), and a Fellow in the American Psychological Society. He has served on several national and international editorial boards, including serving as Editor of The Counseling Psychologist. In 2005-2006 he served as President of the Society of Counseling Psychology; in 2009 he received the Leona Tyler Award, the Society's highest award. He is also the recipient of numerous other awards for his leadership, research, teaching, mentoring, international work, and promotion of diversity and social justice issues.

Reviews

"Research Design in Counseling is a top quality research methods textbook that is specifically targeted to counselors. It was written in an approachable way to aid counselors in understanding the research process and different research methods. It is comprehensive in scope, detailed in description, and useful during the class to learn the material as well as helpful as a reference long after the final grades are posted."

"The authors present the various concepts and issues with language and examples that encourage interest and passion for the process of research while simultaneously stressing the importance of ethically and professionally sound practices. This book is ideal for graduate students, novice researchers, and seasoned researchers alike, with each taking away something valuable from the contents."