The Scientist-Practitioner Model

What is Science?

There is no easy answer to this. For this class, I will offer the definition that science is the formal acquisition of facts. It includes two major perspectives for establishing facts: rationalism and empiricism

1. Rationalism is the application of reasoning (logic) to the understanding of phenomena. It is the creation of theories and hypotheses which facilitate our knowledge about the world.

2. Empiricism is the use of experience to understand phenomena. It is reliance of our senses to determine the relationships that provides us with the information used in reasoning and to test our theories and hypotheses. Empiricism includes, but is not limited to, the use of studies and formal experiments.

Why is Science important for Counselors (after all, they’re practitioners)?

As the authors emphasize, scientific research is vitally important to counseling psychology. The reasons for conducting research are

1.It allows us to test our theories and improve them.

2. As the authors indicate, without scientific research, we would simply be acting out our biases in counseling psychology practice, and in the final analysis such practice would be ineffective.

In fact, the authors underestimated the social costs of not relying on standard professional scientific practice within counseling. Since the publication of the text, the emergence of the Repressed Memories vs. False Memory Syndrome became prominent in both the APA and general community.

What does it mean to be a scientist in counseling?

According to Kelso & Fretz, there are three possible levels.

(1) reviewing and applying research findings to one's practice.

 According to the authors, research is described as the use of controlled observations to create unbiased conclusions about phenomena. This is what we typically call experiments or conducting studies. Research, therefore, is a subset of science.  This level is what the authors called scholarly work, which is a broader concept than empirical research. Scholarly work may include research but also includes other intellectual activities aimed at advancing knowledge.

(2) thinking and carrying out one's work scientifically.

 This is the application of scholarly work and the use of critical thinking, which are learned in one’s training, to the day-to-day application of counseling.

(3) doing research as part of one's career.

 As indicated by the authors, this may not be easily accomplished for a variety of reasons. Many counseling psychologists have neither the physical facilities nor the inclination to do traditionally defined empirical research.

What are the types of research designs used by counseling psychologists? The authors cite four styles or strategies, based upon setting (field or laboratory) and degree of control of the independent variable (high or low control).

The resulting styles are

(1) experimental analogue (laboratory with high control over independent variable)

 permits precise control of variables in a tightly controlled setting. This is called internal validity  allows for strong causal inferences, unlike other studies  Is often overly simple in comparison to “real” counseling (which is why it is still an analogue to counseling).

(2) correlational analogue (laboratory with low control over independent variable)

 shares many of the problems of the experimental analogue, such as artificiality and the ability to generalize to “real” counseling.  Loses the ability to make strong causal statements  Probably more realistic than the experimental analogue, as it accepts that we don’t have the ability to control every possible variable that enters counseling.

(3) experimental field study (field setting with high control over the independent variable).

 many methodological and ethical issues surrounding the use of control groups in experimental field research in counseling psychology  for example, who would not receive treatment (or be delayed treatment)?  Allows for strong causal statements  Obviously, it has the advantage of generalizing to the “real” world (which, by the way, is called external validity)  Very difficult to actually do

(4) correlational field study (field setting with low control over the independent variable).

 Overall, the correlational field study aims to look at relationships between and among variables as they naturally occur.  It does not attempt to create causal statements  It does allow for the generation of hypotheses, as it is often the first type of research conducted

Characteristics of Alternative vs. Traditional Research Methodologies from Table 4-2:

Alternative Research Methods

1. Qualitative: Observations are made and interpreted in words, i.e., verbally and linguistically. Research seeks underlying, subjective meanings. 2. Molar: Broad and general patterns studied. 3. Naturalistic: Research does not impose categories or disrupt natural behavior. 4. Idiographic: Focus on individual; N = I, or small sample studies. 5. Field: Research conducted in natural context. 6. Subjective: Attention to internal processes and meanings for the individual person. 7. Nondeterministic: Views subject as active agent who guides own behavior; has goals, intentions, etc., that cause actions

Traditional Research Methods

1. Quantitative: Observations are transformed into numbers and expressed mathematically. Results analyzed statistically. 2. Molecular: Specific and precise behavior studied. 3. Experimental: Research isolates variables, imposes categories, disrupts natural behavior. 4. Nomothetic: Focus on general patterns; large sample studies. 5. Laboratory: Research is an analogue done in laboratory. 6. Objective: Attention to external processes and to outer behavior of persons. 7. Deterministic: Subject seen as passive recipient of stimuli; behavior caused by external stimuli

So which type of study would be best for a counseling research topic?

Gelso's bubble hypothesis: inevitable trade-offs exist about choices the researcher must make at all stages of research and that solutions to problems of design create other problems.

 Currently, as a study’s rigor (the control of internal validity) increases, the relevance (the degree of usefulness for real counseling) decreases