Publishing Quantitative Manuscripts in Counselor Education and Supervision: General Guidelines and Expectations
✍ Scribed by Darcy Haag Granello
- Publisher
- American Counseling Association
- Year
- 2007
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 102 KB
- Volume
- 47
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0011-0035
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
When John West and Cynthia Osborn assumed coeditorship of Counselor Education and Supervision (CES), they articulated their vision for the future of the journal in an editorial in the December 2006 issue. They spoke of a desire to publish data-based manuscripts "that describe research conducted in a disciplined, systematic, and rigorous manner (vs. research conducted simplistically, quickly, and conveniently)" (West & Osborne, 2006, p. 83). For manuscripts that contain results of quantitative research, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA; 2001) outlines specific criteria to meet the standards of rigor and discipline. These include (among other criteria) a research design that "fully and unambiguously test[s] the hypothesis . . . [and a sample that is] representative of the population to which generalizations are made" (p. 6).
Manuscripts that present the results of quantitative research make an important contribution, both to the journal and to the field. Quantitative research, in tandem with and often informed by, qualitative research, helps counselor educators, supervisors, counseling students, and practicing counselors make informed choices about what interventions they choose to use or avoid in their work. The impact of research published in CES can be significant, and it can serve as the foundation for much of the work in the field of counselor education. Thus, all potential contributors to the journal have a responsibility to ensure that the research contained in their manuscripts is of the highest quality and can be relied on to provide up-to-date and accurate information to the journal readership. What follow are some general guidelines and reminders about the foundations of quality quantitative research. The list of topics was generated at the request of the coeditors of CES and in consultation with them. The list is not intended to be exhaustive nor to inform actual statistical methodology, but to outline basic parameters that are used to guide editorial decisions about manuscripts submitted to the journal and to encourage and support the work of potential authors of quantitative manuscripts. This editorial is intended as both an overview of expectations for beginning scholars and a reminder for more seasoned researchers.