This widely adopted and accessible introductory text for counselors-in-training and emerging researchers provides a foundational understanding of the primary research methods used in counseling and how these concepts can be applied to research design. Writing in a clear and conversational tone, the authors emphasize the importance of ethics and multicultural issues in informing research, demonstrate a professional counselor identity within the framework of research, and outline specific evidence-based and empirically supported findings for counseling practice.

The book contains four parts that explain the practitioner-scholar model and the research process, quantitative and qualitative research methodology and design, and research measurement and program evaluation. Key features include a discussion of the fundamentals of statistics, practical research design illustrations in each chapter, guidelines for the development of an initial study, and suggested activities that synthesize and apply chapter content.