Brief Note on the Origins, Evolution, and Meaning of the Qualitative Research Concept Thick Description

The origins, cross-disciplinary evolution, and definition of “thick description” are reviewed. Despite its frequent use in the qualitative literature, the concept of “thick description” is often confusing to researchers at all levels. The roots of this confusion are explored and examples of “thick description” are provided. The article closes with guidelines for presenting “thick description” in written reports

A Cautious Alliance: The Psychobiographer’s Relationship with Her/His Subject

Psychobiography has been a topical area and an applied research specialty in psychology since Freud’s (1910/1989) influential psychoanalytic psychobiography of Leonardo da Vinci. Throughout the last century, psychobiographers have emphasized the importance of anchoring interpretations of life histories in established psychological theories and rigorous historiographic research methods. One topical area receiving less attention in psychobiography is the critical relationship between the psychobiographer and her or his subject as it relates to the process of psychobiographical writing. The present article explores the phenomenology and challenges of this relationship in order to ultimately propose practical strategies for navigating countertransference issues throughout the subject selection, research and publication phases of psychobiography. Freud’s psychobiography of Leonardo da Vinci is used as a model of the stages of psychobiography, the evolution of the psychobiographer-subject relationship, and the challenges of countertransference

Exploring the Final Years of the Life of John F. Kennedy Jr.: A Mixed Methods Psychobiographical Case Study

This present study utilized a mixed methods design to explore the inner emotional experiencing of John F. Kennedy Jr. during the last five years of his life. A large first-person data set culled from JFK Jr.’s letters and interviews was subjected to a qualitative theme analysis and the quantitative Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) program (Pennebaker, Boyd, Jordan, & Blackburn, 2015). Among the major themes emerging from the qualitative analysis were JFK Jr.’s efforts to balance and integrate his public and private selves; navigating the Kennedy legacy and understanding his family’s place in political history; and establishing George magazine with a goal of connecting politics to the general public. The LIWC analysis provided evidence of a highly logical critical thinker who generally carried himself with confidence and who was able to successfully adapt his tone to the needs of different contexts. It also found significant increases in word usage related to analytical thinking, anxiety, sadness, and death across two time periods. Collectively the data suggested that at the time of his death, JFK Jr. was in a period of contemplation, in which he sought to determine whether it was possible to balance a public and private life

The “Journey” of Doctoral Study in Applied Psychology: Lived Experiences of Students in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology

A qualitative methodology was adopted to explore the lived experiences of doctoral level students in applied psychology. A total of 15 students ranging in age from 24 to 43, who were at varying levels of their doctoral education, participated in individual semi-structured interviews exploring themes related to influences for the pursuit of graduate study, experiences in their program of study, and general reflections of the graduate school journey. All interviews were conducted from a constructivist-interpretivist model, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a phenomenological coding approach (Creswell, 2012; Moustakas, 1994). Emergent broad themes included antecedents leading to graduate study, current experience of doctoral education, and reflections on the doctoral experience. Implications for future research are discussed and recommendations for graduate programs based on findings are provided

Displacement, Identity and Belonging for Ibyangin: The Personal Journey of Transracial Korean-Born Adoptees

The present study examined the lived experience (erlebnis) of adult transracial, Korean-born adoptees (Ibyangin; Yngvesson & Coutin, 2006) raised in the United States by White families. Long interviews (McCracken, 1988) were conducted with fourteen young adult (age 26-30) Korean-born adoptees in-person or by phone. The study was anchored in the constructivist-interpretivist research paradigm (Ponterotto, 2005) and utilized the phenomenological inquiry model (Moustakas, 1994) to explore the essence of the international transracial adoption experience. Two major clusters of meaning with additional subthemes were related to a) identity development, and b) decision to return to Korea. Limitations of the study are reviewed, implications for follow-up research are presented, and clinical applications are addressed

African American and European American Therapists’ Experiences of Addressing Race in Cross-Racial Psychotherapy Dyads

Using Consensual Qualitative Research, 12 licensed psychologists’ overall experiences addressing race in psychotherapy were investigated, as were their experiences addressing race in a specific cross-racial therapy dyad. Results indicated that only African American psychologists reported routinely addressing race with clients of color or when race was part of a client’s presenting concern. European American psychologists indicated that they would address race if clients raised the topic, and some reported that they did not normally address race with racially different clients. When discussing a specific cross-racial dyad, African American therapists more often than European American therapists addressed race because they perceived client discomfort. Only European American therapists reported feeling uncomfortable addressing race, but therapists of both races perceived that such discussions had positive effects

Minority Student Perceptions of Professional Pscyhology Application Packets: A Qualitative Study

This article reports the results of a qualitative study designed to determine issues salient in Black and Hispanic American students\u27 review and evaluation of program-application packets in professional psychology. The study served as an extension to the Yoshida et al. (1989) quantitative investigation. Students interested in pursuing doctoral studies in counseling or school psychology (N = 22) served as the sample. The qualitative methodology incorporated a think-aloud procedure and semistructured interviews. A theme analysis of transcribed interviews identified both major and minor themes central to participants\u27 evaluation of the packets. Major themes included financial aid, program requirements and course descriptions, demography of the student body, and the quality and clarity of application material. Specific suggestions on developing an application packet to send to inquiring prospective students are put forth. It is recommended that such a packet could serve as a costeffective minority-recruitment strategy

Daughters\u27 Perspectives on Maternal Substance Abuse: Pledge to Be a Different Kind of Mother

The purpose of this grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) study was to explore the experiences of racially and culturally diverse young mothers whose own mothers abused substances two decades ago when substance abuse peaked in inner city, urban neighborhoods in the United States and to identify the factors that have influenced how they parent their own children today. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten drug-free mothers who report having been raised by a mother who was addicted to drugs, primarily crack cocaine during their childhoods. The emergent grounded theory is that exposure to maternal substance abuse has a significant and unique impact on female children throughout their lifespan, with particular emphasis at the onset of motherhood. Among the goals the young mothers expressed is that they wanted to be there for their children, protect their daughters from sexual abuse, and raise sons who do not abuse women

Rising Out of the Gap: Early Adolescent Black Males and Academic Success

This qualitative inquiry examined the lived experiences of 14 high-achieving, eighth-grade, Black males in three inner city middle schools. Anchored in a social constructivist paradigm, this study focused on factors that influence the educational experiences of early adolescent Black males. Participant selection was based on state test scores, GPA, and SES; data were collected by classroom observation and semi-structured interviews. Six themes and twenty-two subthemes related to factors which promote achievement and the meaning of achievement were found. Results show that high achieving students were motivated to excel, in part, by striving to counter negative assumptions about Black males. Participants faced many personal and contextual challenges, but they were able to identify individual and environmental resources that they used to fuel their drive for academic success

7. Development And Initial Validation Of The Multicultural Counseling Awareness Scale

In recent years counseling programs have devoted increasing attention to multicultural issues in the curriculum. The counseling profession\u27s initial interest in multicultural training (or development) was buoyed by the Division of Counseling Psychology (Division #17 of the American Psychological Association [APA]) position paper on multicultural competencies (Sue et al., 1982). This position paper delineated 11 cross-cultural counseling competencies organized within the categories of awareness (beliefs/attitudes), knowledge, and skills. The Awareness category refers to the counselor\u27s awareness of his or her own value biases and how these biases may translate into culturally insensitive counseling; to the need to check biases and stereotypes; and to the need to develop a positive orientation towards multiculturalism. Knowledge refers to the counselor\u27s knowledge of his or her own worldview as well as the worldview of his or her clients; and to additional culture- specific information such as the impact of racism on clients, models of acculturation and racial identity development, and so forth. Finally, Skills refers to the counselor\u27s ability to translate awareness and knowledge into culturally sensitive and relevant interventions (Pedersen, 1988; Sue et al., 1982; Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992). Since the Sue et al. (1982) position paper was published, numerous professional preparation programs have added multicultural components to their curriculum. According to the Hollis and Wantz (1990, 1994) national surveys of counseling programs, 76 new multicultural courses were developed and added to existing curriculums from 1989 to 1991, and another 27 programs added a course from 1993 to 1995. In a survey of APA-accredited counseling psychology programs, Hills and Strozier (1992) found that 87% of the programs offered a multicultural course, and 59% of the programs required the course. Also surveying APA-accredited counseling psychology programs, Quintana and Bernal (1995) found that 73% of the programs offered at least one multicultural course and 42% required one course. In the most recent survey to date, of both APA accredited and non-accredited counseling psychology programs, Ponterotto (in press) found that 89% of responding programs have a required multicultural counseling course, and 58% of programs integrate multicultural issues into all courses