Introduction The methodology of a study refers to the procedures that are followed in order to collect and analyze data. Qualitative and quantitative are two broad categories of research methods (Erford, 2015, p. 17). Distinguishing between them is a theme that runs throughout this course. This unit discusses several of the methodological issues, or steps, to be addressed when planning a study. Some of these issues include: What kind of data to collect (such as participants' perceptions). How to best collect the data (for example, in-depth semi-structured interviews). How to select participants. What kinds of treatments or conditions they will experience. How to analyze the data. These decisions determine the research design. "Research designs are types of inquiry within qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches that provide specific direction for procedures in a research design" (Creswell, 2014, p. 12). Validity, Credibility, and Reliability Scholar-practitioners are concerned with the overall validity and trustworthiness of the research they read. In quantitative studies, internal validity refers to the degree to which one can infer cause and effect relationships between the independent and dependent variables, while external validity relates to the generalizability of findings. Both are important issues. In qualitative studies, the term validity is less frequently used when discussing the quality or trustworthiness of the research. Rather, the critical consumer of qualitative research is concerned with credibility, dependability, confirmability, verification, and transferability. This unit provides an introduction to methodological issues in counseling research. These issues will be revisited when you study specific research designs. As you develop your pre-proposal assignment, you will consider methodological issues as they apply to the research design you have chosen. Reviewing the Literature In this unit, you will continue locating current empirical articles, which will be used to write the literature review section of your pre-proposal assignment. An annotated bibliography is a tool for organizing the main ideas of the sources you have read. A detailed annotated bibliography can contribute greatly to the ease of writing a literature review. A well-written literature review is a coherent narrative that provides readers with the status of the knowledge base as it relates to your topic. This works best when literature reviews are organized by main ideas. The writer should not present a laundry list of article summaries with no connections being made among them. Instead, think of the literature review as telling the story of your topic, using the studies as support. There will probably be subheadings in the literature review section to indicate the main ideas for the reader. When you write your literature review, think of the main ideas that you want to get across and organize your writing around them. References Creswell, .

1. Introduction
The methodology of a study refers to the procedures that are
followed in order to collect and analyze data. Qualitative and
quantitative are two broad categories of research methods
(Erford, 2015, p. 17). Distinguishing between them is a theme
that runs throughout this course. This unit discusses several of
the methodological issues, or steps, to be addressed when
planning a study. Some of these issues include:
What kind of data to collect (such as participants' perceptions).
How to best collect the data (for example, in-depth semi-
structured interviews).
How to select participants.
What kinds of treatments or conditions they will experience.
How to analyze the data.
These decisions determine the research design. "Research
designs are types of inquiry within qualitative, quantitative and
mixed methods approaches that provide specific direction for
procedures in a research design" (Creswell, 2014, p. 12).
Validity, Credibility, and Reliability
Scholar-practitioners are concerned with the overall validity and
trustworthiness of the research they read. In quantitative
studies, internal validity refers to the degree to which one can
infer cause and effect relationships between the independent
and dependent variables, while external validity relates to the
generalizability of findings. Both are important issues. In
qualitative studies, the term validity is less frequently used
when discussing the quality or trustworthiness of the research.
Rather, the critical consumer of qualitative research is
concerned with credibility, dependability, confirmability,
verification, and transferability. This unit provides an
introduction to methodological issues in counseling research.
These issues will be revisited when you study specific research

2. designs. As you develop your pre-proposal assignment, you will
consider methodological issues as they apply to the research
design you have chosen.
Reviewing the Literature
In this unit, you will continue locating current empirical
articles, which will be used to write the literature review
section of your pre-proposal assignment. An annotated
bibliography is a tool for organizing the main ideas of the
sources you have read. A detailed annotated bibliography can
contribute greatly to the ease of writing a literature review. A
well-written literature review is a coherent narrative that
provides readers with the status of the knowledge base as it
relates to your topic. This works best when literature reviews
are organized by main ideas. The writer should not present a
laundry list of article summaries with no connections being
made among them. Instead, think of the literature review as
telling the story of your topic, using the studies as support.
There will probably be subheadings in the literature review
section to indicate the main ideas for the reader. When you
write your literature review, think of the main ideas that you
want to get across and organize your writing around them.
References
Creswell, J. W. (2014).
Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods
approaches
(4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Erford, B. T. (2015).
Research and evaluation in counseling
(2nd ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage
U02d1-Assignment
Using the information from this unit's introduction, the text
readings, and the annotated bibliography pages from the Capella
Writing Center, prepare an annotated summary for each of the
empirical studies that you located in this unit. This will serve as
the start of a complete annotated bibliography, if you choose to
create one. An annotated bibliography is a recommended, not

3. required, step toward developing a high-quality literature
review.
Prepare two annotated bibliography entries for this discussion.
Your annotation will be similar to, but most likely briefer than,
the study's abstract. Summarize the material in your own
words, not direct quotes. For each entry, briefly describe the
following elements:
The approach used, either qualitative or quantitative.
The specific research design used.
The purpose of the study.
How the sample was selected.
The research question or the hypothesis (if it is the quantitative
study).
The instrumentation used.
The cultural issues that are relevant to the study.
The data analysis procedure used (statistics if it is a quantitative
study; a method for analyzing narrative if it is a qualitative
study).
The general findings.
The suggested length for this post is 400–500 words