Introductory comments

The genesis of this special issue was an informal conversation among members of the editorial board of Professional gymnasium Counseling (PSC) over the paucity of quality academy counseling research. The topic was with equal reason germane at the time given the new publication of the ASCA National Model[R] (American academy Counselor Association, 2005) and its emphasis upon school counselor accountability and the use of data to support best practice. Richard Lapan, PSC's past editor, and the others around the table notion it was time for our professional journal to assist practitioners with the challenging task of conducting research. As a issue what readers will see in this issue is a collection of first-rate articles that overlays a fairly wide variety of research-related topics and issues. The opening piece through Eder and Whiston, for instance, provides a useful example of by what mode a large group of studies can be synthesized; from this literature review, academy counselors then can make decisions about by what means valuable psychotherapy is for their pupils However, without counselor educators and practitioners conducting these studies in the first place, academy counselors would continue to give in charge students to outside counseling believing and trusting that psychotherapy does make a difference in students' lives, on the other hand not really knowing for sure

In the nearest section of this issue, articles are included that consider different facets of research. Ware and Galassi's piece reviews the use of correlational approaches in institute counseling research, and Bauman's article discusses comparison cluster studies. Subsequently, the how-to's of qualitative investigations (Farber), the value of action research (Rowell), and courses to design effective research tools (Studer Oberman, & Womack) are explored. McDougall and Smith's article gives practitioners advice upon how to conduct studies with small sample sizes, and Sink and Stroh provide help with determining the practical significance of research studies end the use of effect-size estimates. Prior to Brigman's final review that summarizes the lock opener points made in each article, sum of two units articles highlight various resources available to potential investigators and program evaluators. Sabella reviews the work of the ASCA National institute Counseling Research Center, and Carey and Dimmitt outline the work of the Center for place of education Counseling Research. The contributors to this special issue believe these articles will be genuinely useful to academy counseling researchers and practitioners alike. I think PSC readers will agree.

Reference

American place of education Counselor Association. (2005). The ASCA national model: A framework for gymnasium counseling programs (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

Christopher A. Sink, PhD NCC LMHC is a professor and chair with the gymnasium of Education, Seattle Pacific University, WA. E-mail: csink@spu.edu

COPYRIGHT 2006 American gymnasium Counselor Association

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