Practical Approaches to Applied Research and Program Evaluation for Counselors is a comprehensive textbook that presents master’s-level counselors with the skills and knowledge they need to consume literature to inform practice, apply research methods to practice settings, and evaluate the effectiveness of counseling services.
Each chapter, aligned with 2024 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards, guides readers through study design and evaluation fundamentals that will help them understand existing research and link the characteristics of that evidence to their practice. Readers will also be supported in the development of studies to assess their own applied evaluation questions. Readers will learn the basics of research concepts as applied to evaluative tasks, the art of matching evaluative methods to questions, specific considerations for practice-based evaluative tasks, and practical statistical options matched to practice-based tasks.
Readers can also turn to the book’s support material to access sample course outlines for implementation by instructors of 15-, 10- and 5- week courses, worksheets for practitioner and student planning exercises, spreadsheets with formulas for basic data analysis, a sample database, PowerPoint outlines, and discussion questions and activities aligned to each chapter.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: Establishing Foundations 1. Where Research and Program Evaluation Meet Practice 2. Explicating Interventions, Programs, and Logic Models 3. Asking Questions, Informing Designs: Approaches to Scientific Inquiry and Program Evaluation 4. Navigating Methodological Concepts 5. Understanding Measurement and Statistical Concepts 6. Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Cultural Considerations 7. Using Literature to Support Counseling Research and Practice Part 2: Using Research and Program Evaluation in Practice 8. Surveying Groups of People 9. Predicting Relationships Between Variables 10. Evaluating Change Within an Individual 11. Measuring Change within a Single Group 12. Comparing Differences Between Groups 13. Understanding Lived Experiences 14. Combining Findings Across Studies or Sites Part 3: Putting Evaluation Practice into Motion 15. Selecting Assessment Measures 16. Managing and Protecting Data 17. Closing the Loop and Sharing Findings
About the Author :
Casey A. Barrio Minton, PhD, NCC, is a Professor of Counselor Education and Department Head of Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
A. Stephen Lenz, PhD, LPC, is a Professor of Counseling and Coordinator of Counseling Programs at Texas A&M University – San Antonio. Both authors are Past-Presidents of the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling and Fellows of the American Counseling Association.
Review :
‘With impressive scope, the authors integrate the art and science of counseling by translating complex research and program evaluation concepts into clear, counselor-friendly guidance… an uncommon blend of scientific rigor and applied wisdom.’
Victoria Kress, Ph.D., LPCC-S, NCC, Distinguished Professor at Youngstown State University
‘Walking counselors through the entire research process, they present concepts and designs in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner that supports continuous improvement and the promotion of evidence-based counseling outcomes.’
Joshua C. Watson, Ph.D., Dean and Regents Professor of Counselor Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
‘Masterful at organizing and delineating complex evidence-based concepts in assessment and program evaluation… an important resource for every counselor’s tool kit.’
Shawn L. Spurgeon, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, ACS, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services at St. Mary’s University
