An 11-Year Review of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Content and Sample Analysis With an Emphasis on Diversity.

Abstract

Practitioners may turn to Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (PPRP) to read about current professional issues, find out about the experiences of other professionals, and learn about new techniques to improve practice. How do we know whether PPRP meets its mission to provide such services to its readership? This study investigated the content of articles, the samples used in empirical studies, and the multicultural coverage in articles published in PPRP between 1990 and 2000. The results showed that PPRP publishes a wide range of topics applicable to its readership. However, the findings that few of the articles employed clinical samples and descriptions of these samples and that there was a lack of focus on specific cultural groups have implications for practitioners.

Racial/Ethnic Minority Vocational Research: A Content and Trend Analysis Across 36 Years

“…Among articles that focused on one REM group, most attended to career issues of African Americans, whereas Native Americans and Asian Americans received the least attention. These patterns also emerged among the empirical articles in our study, and other researchers have noted similar patterns of the use of REM groups in empirical investigations (Nilsson et al, 2003). Scholars have suggested that investigations should not lump all REMs together (e.g., Sue, 1999), because such studies perpetuate the belief that REM groups are the same and that the issues they encounter in their career development are similar.…”

“…Surprisingly, sexual orientation was reported in only one study. This failure to include sexual orientation when describing samples has been noted previously (Munley et al, 2002;Nilsson et al, 2003). Although sexual orientation information may not be appropriate in all types of studies, such as those on children, it may be that the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation has not been considered important in studies given the lack of research in both areas.…”

Diversity research literature on the rise? A review of school psychology journals from 2000 to 2003

“…Nilsson et al (2003) examined all articles appearing in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice between 1990 and 2000 and found that 9.0% of all articles reviewed reflected diversity issues. Although, unlike this study, these authors did not include socioeconomic status as a category for inclusion as a "diversity-related" article, they did use several categories (age, international, disability) not included in this study.…”

Integrating qualitative research requirements into professional psychology training programs in North America: rationale and curriculum model

“…Furthermore, the postpositivist epistemology of researcherÁ/participant duality and researcher objectivity and neutrality hinders researchers from gaining insight into the life experiences of the culturally diverse in their own natural context and as expressed in their own voices and stories. In recent years, numerous authors have highlighted the particular relevance of qualitative approaches to the study of minority issues in psychology (Choudhuri, 2003;Howard, 2003;Gergen, 2001;Kral et al ., 2002;Morrow et al ., 2001;Nilsson et al ., 2003;Ponterotto, 2002;ShorterGooden, 2002;Sue, 1999).…”