The evidence base for school-based consultation practice and training is limited by a small number of studies, possibly due to unique challenges in researching consultation. For example, there are myriad variables to measure and idiosyncratic cultural and contextual factors to account for when investigating what works, for whom, and in what circumstances. Survey methodology offers one means for conducting consultation research. This article proposes a process for rigorous survey research in school-based consultation training and practice, which addresses some potential concerns regarding survey research. Specifically, issues of survey development, survey validation, sampling, and data collection are addressed. These processes are illustrated through the design and administration of an online survey of 262 early career school psychologists; preliminary data analyses suggested strong scale reliability, minimal item response bias, and population representativeness. Recommendations for future consultation survey research are provided.
ARTICLE HISTORYConsultation is a challenging topic to research. Logistics may prohibit observing consultation practice or consultation training in natural contexts, and other measures (e.g., analysis of syllabi; self-reports of time spent consulting) may offer limited information. Furthermore, unlike direct service delivery, consultation includes more than just a psychologist and client. Instead, consultation includes the consulting psychologist, the consultee, and the client; and the client may include an entire system or institution. Survey research can allow researchers to access this wider range of participants in the consultation process and begin to understand complex systems-level issues. For example, in a survey with a stratified sample of 150 school counselors and 150 school psychologists, Choi, Whitney, and Korcuska (2008) found that limited consultation took place between school counselors and school psychologists despite other data trends indicating a partnership approach to serving children. To provide another example, Gonzalez, Nelson, Gutkin, and Shwery (2004) studied teacher resistance to school-based CONTACT Cynthia Hazel consultation offered by school psychologists via a survey of 403 elementary school teachers. Data suggested that only the hours that a school psychologist was in the building predicted the reported number of consultations and that other expected interpersonal and administrator support variables were nonsignificant in quantity of consultations that occurred.High-quality survey research can be achieved through thoughtful research design, the use of valid and reliable measures, sampling procedures that increase generalizability of findings, and methods to improve response rates. The purpose of this article is to outline a process for applying best practices in survey design to consultation research-in particular, to study school-based consultation practice and training. To that end, we will (a) briefly review the literature on school-based consultation an...