Content, Methodology, and Design Selections in Counselor Education Dissertations

This study explored the content, methodology, and design trends present in counselor education dissertations. The dissertations examined were drawn from a random selection of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs located at Carnegie-classified research universities. In descending order, the three content areas most selected were: (a) counselor education, (b) school counseling, and (c) multicultural counseling. The majority of the dissertations reviewed made use of quantitative methods (64%). With quantitative studies, observational designs were the most-employed category (89%)