Research Methods in Clinical and Counselling Psychology

Book excerpt: Research Methods in Clinical and Counselling Psychology presents a practical description of the research process, taking readers sequentially through the basic steps of a project: groundwork, measurement, design, analysis and interpretation. It also addresses essential background issues, such as the underlying philosophy of the various research methods and the socio-political issues that arise in doing research in service settings. Clinical and counselling research methodology is currently developing rapidly, and psychologists are expanding their repertoire of methods. In this book the authors present a balanced appraisal of both traditional and emergent methods. They re-affirm the scientist-practitioner model: that clinical and counselling psychologists have a dual role as both clinicians and researchers. The authors argue that research embraces a broad range of activities which can be incorporated into everyday professional practice. The book is aimed at students and professionals who want to conduct their own research and those who simply want to understand published research better.