Record Details
Historical and current trends in counselor education dissertations
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Historical and current trends in counselor education dissertations |
| Names |
Richards, Judith D.
(creator) Dykeman, Cass (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 2014-12-30 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 2015 |
| Abstract | Doctoral training programs in counselor education require a dissertation, a capstone project in the academic training and development of graduate students seeking a PhD or an EdD. The dissertation is expected to contribute new knowledge to the profession through the researcher reporting the results of research. The counselor education literature has an absence of analysis or examination of dissertations produced in the field. Content and design analysis studies conducted in allied fields documented multiple benefits to such research. These benefits to doctoral research included: (1) identifying research gaps, (2) showcasing the mentoring process within the profession, (3) illuminating the characteristics of, and trends in, research (4) guiding revisions in research training, (5) guiding revisions in research techniques, and (6) aligning research practices to needs of the profession. The first study in this thesis used content analysis and analyzed the content, research methods, and research designs of dissertations produced in Oregon State University's Counseling Academic Unit over a 65-year period (1949-2014). Inferential statistics determined if there were any decadal differences in content, research methodology, or design. No decadal differences were discovered. Having a historical perspective assists current researchers in knowing their history, which can inform both present and future research efforts. The second study used content analysis and analyzed a cross section of counselor education dissertations produced in a random selection of Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs institutions located in Carnegie-designated research universities in the year 2013 by examining the dissertations' content, research methods, and designs. Inferential statistics determined if selection of a research method differs based on type of degree. Results indicate no relationship between type of degree and selected research method. A total 88.7% of the dissertations employed an observational design. Benefits, trends and implications are summarized, described, and discussed so that counselor educator professionals and their students will have a baseline from which they can reflect on, plan, and carry out research to best meet gaps in scholarship literature. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Access Condition | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/ |
| Topic | Dissertation |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/54924 |
