Journal of Counseling & Development ■ Summer 2011 ■ Volume 89 259

Special Section: Counseling Research and Publishing in JCD

© 2011 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

This special section in the Journal of Counseling & Develop-ment is presented primarily for counselors, counselor educa-tors, and researchers who wish to publish in academic counsel-ing journals, but the content is also relevant to readers who use counseling research findings in their work. Whereas some of the articles in this special section are directed toward aspects of the design, conduct, and publication of research, others are focused on preparing conceptual and practice-focused articles for publication, conducting ethical and responsible counseling research, and engaging in research with an international focus. We sought to cover counseling research broadly by including quantitative and qualitative approaches. We appreciate that we were selected as guest editors and are pleased the people who agreed to contribute to this special section are experienced, well-known, and frequently published authors in counselor education. Although each author was invited to submit a manuscript, each manuscript went through the same review process as other submissions to the journal.

Trusty’s article is about designing, conducting, and publish-ing quantitative research. He presents guidelines and processes for developing quantitative studies, including information on identifying research problems, defining the studies’ param-eters, designing studies, operationalizing variables, and se-lecting statistical analysis methods. He closes his article with guidelines for preparing quantitative articles for publication.

In their article, Balkin and Sheperis examine statistical power, framing the discussion of power in a counseling context. They provide a solid rationale for the salience of power analysis, out-line the principles of power analysis, and offer practical ways to calculate power. Particularly useful are their descriptions of how to effectively use the free computer software program G*Power.

Whiston and Li’s article on meta-analysis outlines the usefulness of meta-analyses for the knowledge base in coun-seling. They present the meta-analysis process in seven major steps, including rich information on coding and data analysis. Whiston and Li describe important decision points in conduct-ing meta-analyses, and they offer numerous resources for researchers who are interested in performing meta-analyses.

Guiffrida, Douthit, Lynch, and Mackie explore action research. They begin by emphasizing the relevance of action

Brandon Hunt and Jerry Trusty, Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brandon Hunt, Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services, The Pennsylvania State University, 309 CEDAR Building, University Park, PA 16802 (e-mail: bbh2@psu.edu).

Introduction to the Special Section Brandon Hunt and Jerry Trusty, Guest Editors

research for the field of counseling and then provide four major steps in the processes of planning, conducting, and presenting action research. Within their article, the important intersec-tions of research and practice are illuminated, as are the intersections of quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Hays and Wood’s article provides a clear and concise over-view of six qualitative research traditions used in counseling: grounded theory, phenomenology, consensual qualitative research, ethnography, narratology, and participatory action research. They describe the purpose, main characteristics, data collection and data analysis methods, and strengths and challenges associated with each tradition, using substance abuse among adolescents as the common research topic to illustrate their points.

Hunt’s article is on designing, conducting, and publish-ing qualitative counseling research. Her article includes information about establishing trustworthiness and rigor in qualitative research, as well as how to present findings in a clear and transparent manner that is informative to readers. She provides guidelines for organizing qualitative manuscripts and for structuring each section of qualitative research articles.

Wester describes how to conduct ethical and responsible counseling research. Her article describes what researchers should be considering from the inception of their research idea to the final publication, with specific content about the ethical implications of conducting both qualitative and quantitative research. She also provides information about how to help participants have true informed consent.

Watts writes about developing conceptual articles in coun-seling. He provides an overview of how conceptual articles are different from other publications, why they are relevant to counseling, and how to generate ideas for a conceptual piece. He then walks readers through the process of developing a conceptual article, providing an example of an outline he used to develop a conceptual article.

Finally, Hohenshil and Amundson write about the impor-tance of publishing articles with an international focus. As counseling continues to expand globally, it is important that counseling journals publish internationally based, research-

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Hunt & Trusty

based, and conceptual articles so we can learn from and be informed about the profession of counseling in all parts of the world. The authors also provide a comprehensive list of counseling journals published in other countries.

As society continues to ask for evidence-based practices and outcome measures to show the value of counseling, the importance of conducting counseling-based research cannot

be understated. As a relatively new profession, we need to continue to build our own knowledge base rather than depend largely on research conducted in related disciplines. It is our hope that this special section will encourage counselors to conduct quality research that will help us continue to grow our knowledge bases and profession, ensuring we are providing the most effective services to clients.