Research in Counseling: A 10‐Year Review to Inform Practice

Abstract

This study reviewed 4,457 articles from 1998 to 2007 in American Counseling Association division‐affiliated journals to identify research articles published in counseling; 1,139 articles (25.6%) were quantitatively research based. The authors provide details related to quantitative research publications, including individual journal contribution to the research base, focus areas for research, and independent and dependent variables highlighted by researchers. One summary finding was that only 6% of counseling research articles explored effectiveness of counseling interventions.

Addiction Topics in Counselor Educator Professional Development: A Content Analysis

“…Most abstracts included in this study were classified as nonresearch. These findings are consistent with previous research on ACA publication trends; Ray et al () conducted a 10‐year review of ACA journals and found that only 31% of articles during this time period represented qualitative, quantitative, or mixed‐method research. For counselor educators to teach evidence‐based addiction counseling practices, as well as use evidence‐based pedagogy and supervision strategies, ACA publications need more empirical research.…”

“…We used these assumed categories (determined based on existing literature and research questions) to generate the a priori coding scheme. Berrios and Lucca's () labels of research and nonresearch allowed us to categorize units of analysis based on presence of empirical evidence because evidence‐based practice is relevant to strengthening the counseling profession (Ray et al, ). Those labeled as research reported original qualitative, quantitative, or mixed‐methods research.…”

Causal Inference from Descriptions of Experimental and Non-Experimental Research: Public Understanding of Correlation-Versus-Causation

“…In particular, researchers in teaching and learning have been criticized for using inappropriate causal statements in their articles (Robinson, Levin, Thomas, Pituch, & Vaughn, 2007;Reinhart, Haring, Levin, Patall, & Robinson, 2013); and counseling psychologists have been warned against utilizing counseling practices that have not been supported by randomized experimental designs (Ray et al, 2011). We suspect that these warning calls to educational and counseling psychologists are indicative of the state of research in the social sciences more generally.…”

Research Training in Doctoral Programs Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs

“…Indeed, for approximately 20 years, Fong and Malone () and Wester, Borders, Boul, and Horton () identified some of the same problems with counseling research, including sampling errors, inappropriate statistical analyses, lack of research questions, lack of statistical power, and missing psychometric information for measures. Others (Barrio Minton, Fernando, & Ray, ; Blancher, Buboltz, & Soper, ; Crockett, Byrd, Erford, & Hays, ; Erford et al, ; Ray et al, ; Wester et al, ) have pointed to an overreliance on descriptive (vs. experimental, process) research methods and relatively simple statistical analyses in published research, as well as the lack of theoretical grounding for research questions. Because the purpose of research is to increase knowledge and improve counseling practice, these limitations in counseling research are of great concern (Sink & Mvududu, ; Wester et al, ).…”