The Counseling Psychologist

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Qualitative Research : Current and Best Practices

Robert T. Carter and Susan L. Morrow
The Counseling Psychologist 2007 35: 205
DOI: 10.1177/0011000006296913
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Qualitative Research:
Current and Best Practices
Robert T. Carter
Teachers College, Columbia University

Susan L. Morrow
University of British Columbia
Key journals in the field of counseling psychology have published
special issues and stand-alone articles on qualitative methods and practices
in the field. Among these efforts are the 1994 special section on qualitative
design in The Counseling Psychologist (TCP), a special issue in the Journal
of College Student Development (Blimling, 2002), and a recent issue of the
Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP, 2005) that included discussions of
various qualitative approaches. In addition to the attention to qualitative
research, there has also been attention given to quantitative issues in both
TCP (Carter, 2006a, 2006b) and JCP (Gelso, 1987) over the past few decades.
These quantitative issues have served as valuable resources in graduate students and researchers understanding and application of the selected designs.
One purpose of these explorations was to increase the accurate usage of
these designs in counseling psychology scholarship.
Over the years, the complexity of the research methods and designs used
in the field have increased. On one hand, increase in complexity and detail
of both quantitative and qualitative research methods provides researchers
an opportunity to examine the relations among and between variables, as
well as to explore the meanings made by human beings, in ways that better
capture the data. On the other hand, mental health professionals who were
trained before these methods became popular and widely used do not have
the training to adequately evaluate the strengths and limitations of some of
these newer or unfamiliar qualitative research studies; thus, their ability to
apply the findings to their clinical work may be restricted.

Authors Note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Robert T.

Carter, Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, TC Box
32, New York, NY 10027; e-mail: rtc10@columbia.edu.
THE COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST, Vol. 35 No. 2, March 2007 205-208
DOI: 10.1177/0011000006296913
2007 by the Division of Counseling Psychology.

205
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THE COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST / March 2007

The current special issue is the second in a two-part (four-issue) series

focusing on research in counseling psychology. The first series appeared
last year and focused on empirical designs and methods (Carter, 2006a,
2006b). The goal for this installment on qualitative research, like the one on
empirical designs, is intended to highlight usage and best practices associated with the process of qualitative research. We chose not to discuss specific approaches but rather to illustrate the process by addressing
overarching topics in the qualitative genre, using examples from various
types of qualitative research approaches. The unique contribution of these
two issues on qualitative research is the explicit goal of presenting the
larger conceptual process associated with qualitative tasks in accessible
language using concrete examples from counseling psychology research;
we are interested in increasing practitioners, students, new researchers,
and even more seasoned scholars skills as consumers and investigators of
qualitative research in counseling psychology.
To help provide a context for the two-part series, we first provide a brief
discussion of the impetus for the projects in which we outline the goals
for the series, followed by a discussion of the key features of the scientistpractitioner training model, which serves as an organizing principle of
the special issues.

CONTEXTUALIZING THE SERIES ON

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
The editor and associate editors of the journal met at the 112th Annual
American Psychological Convention in Hawaii to identify topics for Major
Contributions that would help promote the adoption of the scientistpractitioner
model for a range of professionals and those in training. At some point in our
conversation, we began to focus our attention on the importance of
science and scientific training in this equation. TCP has a rich tradition of
providing both compelling theoretical examinations of critical clinical issues,
especially those addressing societal needs (see Carter, 2003, for a discussion),
and articles that encourage integration of various methods in research. When
assuming the TCP editorship, Robert T. Carter (2003) articulated a vision for
the journal in the new millennium; within this statement he observed the
importance of science in advancing our understanding of human interactions
and development, and he welcomed empirical articles in the journal as long
as they employed thoughtful, replicable, and rigorous methods (p. 9).
Building on this initial vision and on the rich tradition of TCP in providing a
critical and comprehensive synthesis of theoretical and methodological issues
in counseling psychology, we decided to seek articles that could provide a

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Carter, Morrow / QUALITATIVE ANALYSES

207

thoughtful consideration of research methods in the field, both quantitative

(Carter, 2006a, 2006b) and qualitative.
Sue Morrow, who served as a guest editor for the qualitative issues, was
consulted about possible contributors from counseling psychology scholars
with expertise in qualitative research. During this discussion, we learned
that the JCP qualitative special issue was in press. We decided that the
approach we would take for TCP would be distinctly different. The JCP
issue featured articles that discussed particular methods as well as foundational articles that dealt with paradigms, data gathering, ethics, and trustworthiness in qualitative research. We decided to focus on the conceptual
process and illustrate the various steps needed to conduct a qualitative
study, using various designs to illustrate the points. This way, TCP issues
would complement the JCP special issue. After additional discussion, we
created a list of scholars to invite to contribute a manuscript on a specific
part of the research process. Each manuscript, although invited, was treated
like all manuscripts submitted to the journal (i.e., manuscripts were sent out
for anonymous review by experts in the specified area, and a determination
of acceptance was dependent on these reviews).
We instructed authors to (a) focus on a particular aspect of the research
process to capture the historical development of overall conceptualization,
data collection, and data analysis; (b) use illustrations that cut across specific designs or types of qualitative research; (c) incorporate case examples
throughout; and (d) articulate best practices. It was important that the manuscripts taught and communicated sound and accepted research practice
using accessible language. Thus, we hoped to enhance the scientific rigor
in the journal and the qualitative research literacy skills of our readership.
These goals are consistent with the scientistpractitioner training model.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH METHOD SERIES

In the first installment of the qualitative research series, we collected
four articles that cover the first steps in the process of conducting qualitative research: Morrow (2007 [this issue]) provides an overview of the
conceptual foundations of qualitative research in counseling psychology;
Creswell, William, Clark, and Morales (2007 [this issue]) guide readers
through the process of selecting appropriate research designs; Haverkamp
and Young (2007 [this issue]) explore the process of forming a rationale;
and Suzuki, Muninder, Arora, and Mattis (2007 [this issue]) examine
the data collection process. The second special issue consists of four discussions that complete the process and extend it to include best practices
for analyzing qualitative data (Yeh & Inman, in press [TCP special issue,

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THE COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST / March 2007

Part 4]); how a qualitative study should be developed for publication

(Ponterotto & Greiger, in press [TCP special issue, Part 4); how to teach
qualitative research (Poulin, in press [TCP special issue, Part 4]); and a
reaction paper from a leading and world-class scholar and researcher,
Michelle Fine (in press, [TCP special issue, Part 4]).

REFERENCES
Blimling, G. S. (Ed.). (2002). Emerging issues in conducting qualitative research [Special
issue]. Journal of College Student Development, 43(4), 431-596.
Carter, R. T. (2003). The Counseling Psychologist in the new millennium: Building a bridge
from the past to the future. The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 5-15.
Carter, R. T. (Ed.). (2006a). Special issue: Quantitative issues and analyses in counseling psychology: Part 1 [Special issue]. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(5), 595-731.
Carter, R. T. (Ed.). (2006b). Quantitative issues and analyses in counseling psychology: Part
2 [Special issue]. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(6), 732-912.
Creswell, J. W., William, H. E., Clark, V. L. P., & Morales, A. (2007). Qualitative research
designs: Selection and implementation. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(2), 236-264.
Fine, M. (in press). Reaction and critique [TCP special issue, Part 4]. The Counseling
Psychologist, 35(3).
Gelso, C. G. (Ed.). (1987). Quantitative foundations of counseling psychology research
[Special issue]. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34(4), 365-489.
Haverkamp, B. E., & Young, R. A. (2007). Paradigms, purpose, and the role of the literature:
Formulating a rationale for qualitative investigations. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(2),
265-294.
Morrow, S. L. (2007). Qualitative research in counseling psychology: Conceptual foundations.
The Counseling Psychologist, 35(2), 209-235.
Suzuki, L. A., Muninder, A. K., Arora, A. K., & Mattis, J. S. (2007). The pond you fish in
determines the fish you catch: Exploring strategies for qualitative data collection. The
Counseling Psychologist, 35(2), 295-327.
Ponterotto, J. G., & Grieger, I. (in press). Effectively communicating qualitative research [TCP
special issue, Part 4]. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(3).
Poulin, K. L (in press Teaching qualitative research: Lessons from practice [TCP special issue,
Part 4]). The Counseling Psychologist, 35(2).
Yeh, C. J., & Inman, A. (in press). Qualitative data analysis and interpretation in counseling
psychology: Strategies for best practices [TCP special issue, Part 4]. The Counseling
Psychologist, 35(3).

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