Real World Coaching: Real World Research

The next element of a coaching research model encompasses defining fields of inquiry. In this model, coach researchers undertake systematic exploration of coaching research questions.  These might include formal and informal coaching research:
• to develop a better understanding of the human change process
• to improve the accuracy and reliability of coaching assessment and outcome measures
• to develop more grounded methods of coaching interventions and
• to develop more grounded models for promoting client change and growth.
The research questions may be driven by the coach researcher’s individual interests or by the interests of some external organization. Alternatively, research questions may emerge as a result of constructed, collective thinking within the coach researcher community.

The final element of the coaching research model is an integrated support structure which comprises skills development, access to information and technical and collegial support. The education of coach researchers should provide practitioners with a solid grounding in the ethics and protocols of data collection and treatment to ensure the integrity and validity of coaching research.  At a minimum, practitioners would have the skills to read and use research literature and to set up and use reflective coaching research practices.