Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Approach To Research Essay

b. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the approach to research contained in the article.
Carl Rogers was one of the pioneers of counselling research; his research team developed a quantitative questionnaire to measure process variable like empathy, unconditional positive regard and empathy (Rogers, Gendlin, Kiesler and Truax, 1967, cited in McLeod, 2010). However, in more recent times, it has been recognised that the complexity of the therapy process and the lived experiences of the client in the therapy session can be more appropriately analysed through qualitative approaches such as interviews and lived experiences of events in therapy sessions. Mick Cooper (video excerpt 20, 2016) explains how in the UK organisations like the Health Professions Council are increasingly calling for counselling and psychotherapy to be rooted in research evidence, and the existence of such evidence may have funding implications for practitioners.
Qualitative research could be defined as systematic inquiry involving the

To address the possible problems of researcher bias, Elliott, Fisher and Rennie (1999) suggested a list of “quality criteria” for qualitative research, this included “Owning one’s perspective/reflexivity” where the researcher is required to disclose personal biases that moulded their approach to the subject being studied. Elliott et al. also included in their list the need for researchers to carry out credibility checks of the categories and themes to be analysed (Elliott, Fisher and Rennie cited in McLeod, 2010). The Elliott et al. list attempts to ensure the validity and reliability of any qualitative research study findings and eliminate the notion that any study is not just a collection of the personal views of the researcher (McLeod,