Grounded Theory and Theory

¶ … Counseling

Review and selection of counseling-related research article using a qualitative methodology

A review of peer-reviewed counseling-related research articles using a qualitative methodology that were published within the last 10 years identified the most relevant results as including a phenomenological study by Parker and Change (2014) and a grounded theory study by Wiens and Daniluk (2009). The phenomenological study by Wiens and Daniluk (2009) provided an overview of various qualitative methodologies that have been in the past to evaluate the experience of father's with children diagnosed with schizophrenia, but noted that most of the research to date in this area has taken place a decade or more following diagnosis and there have only been three studies to date concerning the role of fathers in the disease process. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to provide fresh insights concerning the lived experiences of fathers whose young adult children were diagnosed with schizophrenia within the last 10 years.

According to Wiens and Daniluk (2009), their choice of a phenomenological methodology was based on its proven ability to develop fresh insights concerning the lived experiences of these fathers with schizophrenic children and the paucity of research in this area. While there has been some research that has implicated mothers in the etiology of schizophrenia, there has been far less attention paid to the role of fathers in the onset of the disease process (Wiens & Danilu, 2009). Nevertheless, the research to date concerning the role of mothers in the etiology of schizophrenia provides a useful body of knowledge upon which to base new phenomenological studies of fathers (Wiens & Danilu, 2009).

This research strategy was regarded as being particularly appropriate for the purposes of this study given the methodology's ability to provide social researchers with the empirical data that is required in order to formulate new theories, views and opinions. In this regard, Sheperis, Young and Daniels (2017) report that, "Phenomenology focuses on participants' perceptions of their experiences and circumstances" (p. 31). In sum, a phenomenological research strategy can provide counselors with a richer understanding of these fathering experiences in ways that can help address underlying issues of guilt and blame (Wiens & Daniluk, 2009). Other research strategies such as grounded theory can also provide valuable information concerning the lived experiences of individuals of interest as discussed below.

Part 2. Grounded theory methodology

According to Sheperis, Young and Daniels (2017), the grounded theory methodology is especially well suited for gaining a better understanding of a sociological issue of interest because it draws on a wide range of empirically derived sources. The qualitative study by Parker and Chang (2014) used a grounded theory methodology to investigate the lived experiences of 12 counseling students in their reporting of problems with their peers who were perceived as being impaired for whatever reason. According to Neuman (2009), grounded theory can be used by social researchers to apply a set of qualitative procedures that can be used to formulate new theories and gain new insights concerning issues of interest. In sum, qualitative researchers using the grounded theory methodology rely on direct observation of various concrete details that are related to the issue of interest (Neuman, 2009).

Citing the American Counseling Association's requirement that counselors and counselors in training must intervene when their peers exhibit signs of impairment, the study by Parker and Chang (2014) sought to determine the extent to which counselors in training were actually intervening when they discerned signs of impairment among their peers. In this regard, Parker and Chang (2014) report that the goal of their grounded theory study was to provide an in-depth exploration concerning the peer-reported process among college counseling students and their peers. The study's guiding research questions were as follows: (1) who reports?, (2) how do they report? and (3) what do they report? This grounded theory study also examined the immediate as well as the long-term implications of these issues, including the outcomes of peer reporting on identifying peers with impairments (Parker & Chang, 2014). According to the authors, they selected grounded theory based on its strengths in examining the real-world experiences of student counselors concerning their perceptions about the need for peer reporting, as well as the legal and ethical implications that are involved in the process (Parker & Chang, 2014). In addition, Parker and Change (2014) also note that grounded theory is a proven framework for collecting, analyzing and interpreting qualitative data.