A study of the reliability and validity of a theory guide developed by Miller and Jackson

This study was designed to determine the reliability and validity of The Theory Guide. While supervising master-level students in the counseling laboratory at The George Washington University, the researcher used The Theory Guide developed by Finch, J., Mattson, D., and Moore, J., at the University of South Dakota as a tool for helping students begin the process of identifying their view of human nature and how it relates to choosing a theoretical orientation or an integration of theories. The tool proved to be valuable in generating discussion, was well received by the students and determined to be a valuable pedagogical tool by the researcher. However, no reliability or validity studies on the tool had been performed. Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the tool could be used to generate future research the author of this study decided to perform reliability and validity testing on The Theory Guide.;Although this is a study on the reliability and validity of the Theory Guide, the researcher, while contemplating the dilemma beginning students have integrating theoretical orientations into practice, was interested in two additional areas of research. First, students may need more exposure to the philosophical underpinnings of the various theories in order to be able to select a theory that is congruent with their own beliefs about human nature. Second, it may be hard for some beginning students to begin the process of selecting a theory or integration of theories that is congruent with their personality because of the little time spent in self-reflection. It is this researcher's belief coupled with literature regarding personality development that age may be a contributing factor in selecting an approach to counseling.;To analyze the reliability of the Theory Guide, masters and doctoral students from the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas took part in a test-retest procedure. In the test-retest procedure significant correlations (p < .01) were found. Both a Q-Sort and a factor analysis were used to evaluate the content validity of the Theory Guide. Both procedures showed a partial significance. Little correlation was found between age and level of education.;This study is significant for three different groups: counselors-in-training, counseling educators, and future researchers.