The Coaching Research Agenda: Pitfalls, Potholes and Potentials

Gathering the Data

What measurement tools do we use? This is the next major challenge which we face in establishing a program to study the professional coaching process. Admittedly, the tools are often predetermined. The research question is often framed or reframed in a manner that presupposes the use of specific tools. We may even change the research question on occasion to conform to the restraints of a specific measurement tool. At other times, a specific tool is quickly selected, setting aside the question of which tools might be most appropriate and even more importantly what occurs when a single tool is employed. I am not alone in suggesting that effective research dealing with a complex phenomenon such as professional coaching should deploy more than one measurement tool—preferably at least three tools. This three-fold approach—often called triangulation—is a classic in the annuals of research methodology. (e.g. Merriam) In fact, this three-fold approach is often identified not just with the use of three or more measurement tools, but also with the use of three or more sources of information.

This multi-source/multi-method approach is clearly quite demanding with regard to both resource requirements (time, money, etc.) and the need for careful planning. This demanding approach, however, is worth the effort given the valuable outcomes that can be obtained. When only one measurement tool is used, the method of information collection itself can influence the system being studied. If two sources are used, the researcher risks obtaining contradictory information based in part on differing methodological biases. There is no clear-cut way to resolve these differences. Three or more sources of information allow for constructive resolution of these discrepancies. Typically, at least two of the three (or more) sources will yield similar information, or, at least, common themes. If all three information sources yield discrepant data, it is evident that the system being studied is complex, contradictory and in need of broader investigation.