Research Methods

Research is a vital and essential domain in all parts or psychology as it provides us with rich and useful information which can be used as important information.   Research has been defined by Mcleod as ‘a systematic process of critical inquiry leading to valid propositions and conclusions that are communicated to interested others’ (McLeod 1994: 4).   It is the research carried out by others which allows us to explore and reflect on certain topics and subjects further more research can be valuable as it can allow us to extend research and explore parts of research that we believe are missing. In addition Cooper (2008) states research is an essential part of being a counselling practitioner as it allows us to evaluate and to refine certain models. Furthermore I believe that research enables us to stick to rules and guidelines. For example Rogers research on the core conditions within counselling gives counselling practitioners a fundamental base for their work and also provides us with guidelines as knowledge of counselling. For the purpose of this essay I will be evaluating research methods as well as writing about my own research intentions.
Within research methods exist two major domains including qualitative and quantitative research. Both research styles differ greatly in terms of collecting the data and then analysing the data.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH.
Qualitative research as a trend has grown immensely in the last twenty years (Seale et al., 2004). This form of research looks at non numerical data collection that researches experiences rather then facts n figures. Furthermore Denzin (1994) states that qualitative research looks holistically and contextually which prevents this form of research from being reductionist. Qualitative research recognises that in research, patterns may emerge in what participants do or say. Therefore qualitative research involves analyzing and extracting similar meanings and themes from questionnaires, interviews or observations....