"The second edition of Research Methods in Family Therapy breaks new ground in presenting an in-depth perspective on qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches to family therapy research. Providing great breadth and depth in each of these areas, the editors have pulled together a close-to-perfect handbook for young researchers entering the field, as well as for seasoned family therapy researchers. Sprenkle and Piercy have given us, once again, an ideal text in family therapy research methodology."

--William M. Pinsof, PhD, The Family Institute at Northwestern University

"This excellent second edition offers a significant expansion and update of its predecessor and addresses a variety of essential research issues. New and revised chapters cover such topics as computer-aided qualitative data analysis, future directions for qualitative methods, and quantitative and mixed-method approaches at the cutting edge of family therapy research. This book belongs on the shelves of practitioners and students who want to build their research skills, as well as seasoned family therapy researchers."

--Sandra M. Stith, PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Virginia Tech

"As a faculty member in an accredited master's-level MFT program, I've been waiting for the second edition of Sprenkle and Piercy's classic text on research methods. Our faculty want a textbook that will make research interesting and relevant to master's-level clinicians. At the same time, we want a book that reflects the growing sophistication of MFT methodology. Sprenkle and Piercy's new edition meets both goals admirably. I'm confident that we will adopt it as a basic text!"

--Jo Ellen Patterson, PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, University of San Diego

Guilford Publications Web Site, July, 2005

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of this widely adopted text and professional reference reflects significant recent changes in the landscape of family therapy research. Leading contributors provide the current knowledge needed to design strong qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies; analyze the resulting data; and translate findings into improved practices and programs. Following a consistent format, user-friendly chapters thoroughly describe the various methodologies and illustrate their applications with helpful concrete examples. Among the ten entirely new chapters in the second edition is an invaluable research primer for beginning graduate students. Other new chapters cover action and participatory research methods, computer-aided qualitative data analysis, feminist autoethnography, performance methodology, task analysis, cutting-edge statistical models, and more.

I. Introduction

1. Pluralism, Diversity, and Sophistication in Family Therapy Research, Douglas H. Sprenkle and Fred P. Piercy
2. A Graduate Student Guide to Conducting Research in Marriage and Family Therapy, Lenore M. McWey, Ebony Joy James, and Sara A. Smock

II. Qualitative Methods

3. Let's Get Grounded: Family Therapy Research and Grounded Theory, Silvia Echevarria-Doan and Carolyn Y. Tubbs
4. The Use of Phenomenology for Family Therapy Research: The Search for Meaning, Carla M. Dahl and Pauline Boss
5. Focus Groups in Family Therapy Research, Fred P. Piercy and Katherine M. Hertlein
6. Action and Participatory Research Methods in Family Therapy, Tai J. Mendenhall and William J. Doherty
7. Computer-Aided Qualitative Data Analysis Software: General Issues for Family Therapy Researchers, Jennifer L. Matheson
8. Bridging Research: Using Ethnography to Inform Clinical Practice, Carolyn Y. Tubbs and Linda M. Burton
9. Feminist Autoethnography, Katherine R. Allen and Fred P. Piercy
10. Performance Methodology: Constructing Discourses and Discursive Practices in Family Therapy Research, Saliha Bava
11. Future Directions for Qualitative Methods, Ronald J. Chenail

III. Mixed Methods

12. Survey Research, Thorana S. Nelson and David D. Allred
13. The Delphi Method, Linda Stone Fish and Dean M. Busby
14. Task Analysis of Couple and Family Change Events, Brent Bradley and Susan M. Johnson
15. Program Evaluation Science and Family Therapy, Jay A. Mancini, Angela J. Huebner, Eric E. McCollum, and Lydia I. Marek

IV. Quantitative Methods

16. Clinical Trials in Marriage and Family Therapy Research, Kevin P. Lyness, Stephanie R. Walsh, and Douglas H. Sprenkle
17. Meta-Analysis in Family Therapy Research, Karen S. Wampler, Alan Reifman, and Julianne M. Serovich
18. Economic Evaluation Methodology for Family Therapy Outcome Research, David P. Mackinnon
19. Approaches to Prediction: Correlation, Regression, and Classification Techniques, Douglas K. Snyder and Laurel F. Mangrum

V. Advanced Quantitative Methods

20. Multilevel Growth Modeling in the Context of Family Research, Margaret K. Keiley, Nina C. Martin, Ting Liu, and Megan Dolbin-MacNab
21. Covariance Structure Analysis: From Path Analysis to Structural Equation Modeling, Margaret K. Keiley, Mary Dankoski, Megan Dolbin-MacNab, and Ting Liu