Susan L. Morrow

Quality and trustworthiness in qualitative research in counseling psychology.

This article examines concepts of the trustworthiness, or credibility, of qualitative research. Following a “researcher-as-instrument,” or self-reflective, statement, the paradigmatic underpinnings of various criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research are explored, setting the stage for a discussion of more transcendent standards (those not associated with specific paradigms) for conducting quality research: social validity, subjectivity and reflexivity, adequacy of data, and adequacy of interpretation. Finally, current guidelines for writing and publishing qualitative research are reviewed, and strategies for conducting and writing qualitative research reports are suggested. Qualitative research, ensuing from a variety of disciplines, paradigms, and epistemologies, embraces multiple standards of quality, known variously as validity, credibility, rigor ,o rtrustworthiness. In addition to some standards that may be thought of as somewhat universal across disciplines and paradigms, the “goodness” (Morrow & Smith, 2000) of qualitative inquiry is assessed on the basis of the paradigmatic underpinnings of the research and the standards of the discipline. Thus, a grounded theory study or a consensual qualitative research investigation in counseling psychology that is rooted in a postpositivist or constructivist/interpretivist paradigm will look quite different from a critical ethnography in education; and the standards appropriate for evaluating these studies will vary accordingly. I begin this article by addressing the paradigmatic underpinnings of trustworthiness or rigor in qualitative research. Next, I discuss central topics related to trustworthiness or validity that span paradigms and may be thought of as relevant across most research designs. I then provide an overview of guidelines that have been suggested for evaluating qualitative research, particularly in psychology. Finally, I offer recommendations for enhancing the quality of qualitative research in counseling psychology and suggest strategies for writing and publishing. First, however, in keeping with the standard of reflexivity as a way for researchers to inform their audiences about their perspectives as well as to manage their subjectivities, I describe my own assumptions about qualitative research methodology and quality.

Qualitative Research in Counseling Psychology: Conceptual Foundations

Beginning with calls for methodological diversity in counseling psychology, this article addresses the history and current state of qualitative research in counseling psychology. It identifies the historical and disciplinary origins as well as basic assumptions and underpinnings of qualitative research in general, as well as within counseling psychology. It identifies the foundational elements of qualitative research, including its purposes and goals, paradigmatic bases, and underlying characteristics. Finally, it locates qualitative research in counseling psychology in the research genre and explores the promise that this form of research holds for counseling and psychotherapy research as well as counseling psychologys multicultural and social justice agenda.

Constructions of survival and coping by women who have survived childhood sexual abuse.

This qualitative study investigated personal constructs of survival and coping by 11 women who have survived childhood sexual abuse. In-depth interviews, a 10-week focus group, documentary evidence, and follow-up participant checks and collaborative analysis were used. Over 160 individual strategies were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing (a) causal conditions that underlie the development of survival and coping strategies, (b) phenomena that arose from those causal conditions, (c) context that influenced strategy development, (d) intervening conditions that influenced strategy development, (e) actual survival and coping strategies, and (f) consequences of those strategies. Subcategories of each component of the theoretical model were identified and are illustrated by narrative data. Implications for counseling psychology research and practice are addressed

Achieving trustworthiness in qualitative research: A pan-paradigmatic perspective

Abstract In this article, as two researchers from different traditions in qualitative research (consensual qualitative research and grounded theory), the authors present their shared views on the critical elements of trustworthiness in qualitative data. In addition to making specific recommendations about the integrity of data, the balance between participant meaning and researcher interpretation, and clear communication and application of the findings, they identify ways in which these issues are difficult to negotiate within and across different qualitative approaches. The authors present examples from various qualitative studies, emphasize the need for a shared language to reduce confusion between qualitative traditions and with researchers from a more strictly quantitative orientation, and recommend particular approaches to establishing trustworthiness in qualitative research.

Mormon Clients’ Experiences of Conversion Therapy The Need for a New Treatment Approach

Perspectives were gathered of 50 Mormon individuals who had undergone counseling to change their sexual orientation. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method and participant verification, thereby developing a grounded theory. A model emerged that depicted participants’ intrapersonal and interpersonal motivations for seeking conversion or “reparative” therapy, their perceived benefits and harms of such interventions, and the factors that facilitated self-acceptance and consolidation of a positive self-identity. Based on these descriptions, this study provides the foundation for a broader-based treatment approach (besides one focused solely on changing sexual orientation or adopting a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity), which is designed to produce individualized congruent solutions for religiously conflicted, same-sex-attracted clients.

Conversion Therapies for Same-Sex Attracted Clients in Religious Conflict Context, Predisposing Factors, Experiences, and Implications for Therapy

Despite a long history of viewing homosexuality as pathological and in need of change, the majority of mental health professions have, during the past 30 years, adopted statements that have depathologized lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. However, concurrent with these advances has been a rise in religious and therapeutic approaches to sexual reorientation (conversion or “reparative”) therapies. Recent scholarship highlights these controversies and the benefits and harms experienced by clients who have sought such interventions. This major contribution extends extant scholarship to include predisposing environmental and personality variables that lead same-sex attracted individuals in religious conflict to conversion therapies, an understanding of the journey to and through such therapies, and clinical implications and recommendations for working with these clients in a manner that does not contribute to further conflict.

Recommendations for designing and reviewing qualitative research in psychology: Promoting methodological integrity.

The current paper presents recommendations from the Task Force on Resources for the Publication of Qualitative Research of the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, a section of Division 5 of the American Psychological Association. This initiative was a response to concerns by authors that reviews of qualitative research articles frequently utilize inflexible sets of procedures and provide contradictory feedback when evaluating acceptability. In response, the Task Force proposes the concept of methodological integrity and recommends its evaluation via its two composite processes: (a) fidelity to the subject matter, which is the process by which researchers develop and maintain allegiance to the phenomenon under study as it is conceived within their tradition of inquiry, and (b) utility in achieving research goals, which is the process by which researchers select procedures to generate insightful findings that usefully answer their research questions. Questions that guide the evaluation of these processes, example principles, and a flowchart are provided to help authors and reviewers in the process of both research design and review. The consideration of methodological integrity examines whether the implementation of fidelity and utility function coherently together. Researchers and reviewers also examine whether methods further the research goals, are consistent with researchers’ approaches to inquiry, and are tailored to the characteristics of the subject matter and investigators. This approach to evaluation encourages researchers and reviewers to shift from using standardized and decontextualized procedures as criteria for rigor toward assessing the underlying methodological bases for trustworthiness as they function within research projects.

Can the Master’s Tools Ever Dismantle the Master’s House? Answering Silences With Alternative Paradigms and Methods

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) concerns continue to be underrepresented in the counseling literature, although progress was made in the 1990s in the content and quantity of literature dealing with these issues. Despite progress in several areas, the scholarship on specific marginalized groups within the LGB community is particularly sparse:LGB people of color, bisexual women and men, lesbian women, LGB people with disabilities, and transgendered individuals. In this reaction, the author raises some questions about these absences and suggests alternative paradigms and research approaches that may help to address the complexities and fill in the gaps in the coming decade.

Impossible Dreams, Impossible Choices, and Thoughts about Depolarizing the Debate

• “Reflections From the Conversion Therapy Battlefield” (Gonsiorek, 2004[this issue], pp. 750-759)• “Impossible‘Choices’:IdentityandValuesataCrossroads”(Miville&Fergu-son, 2004 [this issue], pp. 760-770)• “A Welcome Addition to the Literature: Nonpolarized Approaches to SexualOrientation and Religiosity” (Phillips, 2004 [this issue], pp. 771-777)• “SexualIdentity,SexualOrientation,ReligiousIdentity,andChange:IsItPos-sibletoDepolarizetheDebate?”(Worthington,2004[thisissue],pp.741-749)

Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women's Spirituality in Feminist Multicultural Counseling

This article discusses considerations for integrating spirituality into feminist multicultural counseling (FMC) with diverse lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women clients. First, the authors describe the historical conflict between LBQ women and conservative religions and explain how hierarchical, patriarchal assumptions and values of conservative religions may have a negative effect on well-being and empowerment. Second, the authors describe the positive influences of affirming religions and spiritualities on LBQ womens resilience within oppressive sociocultural contexts. Third, the authors explore the relevance of FMC when integrating spirituality into counseling with LBQ women. Fourth, the authors provide an overview of a model of FMC framework for integrating spirituality into FMC. Finally, we provide a client vignette example.