Identifies six categories of design and methodological errors contained in the 39 empirical studies of neurolinguistic programming (NLP) documented through April 1984. Representative reports reflecting each category are discussed. Suggestions are offered for improving the quality of research on NLP. (Author/MCF)

Presents three articles which focus on ways of conceptualizing and conducting counseling psychology research that are alternatives to the received view of psychological science. Includes five reaction articles which review the diverse and complex philosophical issues to be considered when doing and thinking about research. (JAC)

Reviews recent research on counseling as a social influence process. Presents studies published since 1981 in two groups according to whether they pertain to first or second stage of Strong's (1968) influence model. Critically examines social influence literature as a whole as to its methodological and theoretical adequacy. (Author/ABL)

Examined research on lesbian and gay male issues in counseling psychology journals. Reviewed 6,661 studies from 6 major counseling psychology journals over 12-year period; 43 studies focused on variables related to lesbian or gay male sexual orientation. Content of articles demonstrated perspective of gay male and lesbian acceptance or…

Examines the experimental literature on neurolinguistic programming (NLP). Sharpley (l984) and Einspruch and Forman (l985) concluded that the effectiveness of this therapy was yet to be demonstrated. Presents data from seven recent studies that further question the basic tenets of NLP and their application in counseling situations. (Author/KS)

Reports on a content analysis of the research published in the "Journal of Counseling Psychology" (JCP) for a 26-year period (1973-1998). Principal areas of research activity and publication in the JCP were process only, process and outcome, vocational behavior research, and the development and evaluation of tests and measures. Reveals…

Social class is an important cultural construct, but it is poorly used in research. Problems in using social class may be associated with its poor definition in previous studies; conflating between social class and socioeconomic status; using objective indices such as income, education, and occupation rather than subjective measures; regarding…

Examines the prevalence of inflated Type I error in counseling research and recommends wider use of multivariate statistics to correct the problem. Type I error becomes inflated beyond acceptable levels when researchers perform individual univariate statistics on each of several dependent variables within a single project. (Author)

Reviews 15 studies that have investigated the use of the Preferred Representational System (PRS) in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP). Aspects of design, methodology, population and dependent measures are evaluated, with comments on the outcomes obtained. Results suggested that there is little supportive evidence for the use of PRS in the NLP.…

Reviewed 149 studies which measured counselor or therapist competencies and examined them for evidence of the reliability and validity associated with the assessment instruments. Only 43 percent of the measurements included reliability data computed at the time they were used, and only 12 percent were accompanied by evidence of their validity.…

Applies the social relations model (SRM), designed to analyze nonindependent data, as a solution for studying the ways in which group members interrelate and influence one another that avoids some of the data analysis problems indigenous to group psychotherapy research. Discusses examples of applications of SRM to previously inaccessible research…

Reviews investigations attempting to manipulate clients' expectations for counseling or psychotherapy. Describes and evaluates six strategies used in attempting expectancy manipulation, none with significant success. Audiotaped and videotaped interventions proved most effective, verbal interactions ineffective, and printed documents of dubious…

Charges that social scientists have generally failed to integrate the results of their research into a coherent body of knowledge becasue traditional methods of research integration are inadequate for the task. Suggests that meta-analysis provides a greatly improved approach for integrating accumulations of research findings. (Author/JAC)

Considers three areas of research in which currently accepted research practices are contrasted with alternative practices in order to establish the validity of the incumbent and/or the value of the newer approach. Implications for appropriate research methodology in counseling psychology are discussed. (Author/RC)

Both the postpositivistic (Ellis, Ladany, Krengel, and Schult, 1996; Ladany, Hill, Corbett, and Nutt, 1996) and interpretive (Neufeldt, Karno, and Nelson, 1996; Worthen and McNeill, 1996) studies in this special section on supervision research are reviewed from the perspective of rigor and relevancy to the critical questions facing educators and…