- data processing;
- analysis and interpretation of information;
- drawing up the investigation report;
- proposing a strategy / intervention / correction measures.
In the case of psycho-educational investigations for career counselling, the stages are
fewer:
The first stage consists in delimiting the problem and phrasing the hypotheses.
In the course of information / documentation on the investigation field it is
possible to rephrase the initial hypotheses. For instance, if the factors determining
fluctuation of students’ vocational interests at a certain age, it is first and
foremost obligatory to know the means of information they have access to, as
well as how mature their decision-making capacity is at that age.
The second stage consists in drawing up work strategies and choosing the
sample or lot of the general population subjected to the research. The sample size
is established based on the level up to which it is intended to generalize in
conclusions, or the degree of accuracy in the conclusions obtained. The sample is
compiled by exact statistical rules, such as the significant characteristics of the
population (gender, age, residence, education, etc.), which can be random or
based on accessibility of individuals selected, financial and human resources
available, etc. Choosing a sampling technique greatly depends on the counsellor’s
experience and the supposedly strength connection between the variable targeted
and the characteristics of the sample.
The third stage is choosing the data collection instruments and the doing the
fieldwork. The techniques frequently used are: questionnaire and interview guide,
observation, focus group, discussion, tests.
The fourth stage is information processing and interpretation. “Information /
facts do not speak for themselves. The researcher ready to employ the
investigation method will establish what processing methods will be used.”
(Wise, 1988).
In counselling, practitioners investigating human beings can choose between two
modalities of result processing and interpretation available: logical fact analysis,
and statistical analysis.
The fifth stage consists in presenting the information obtained by specialists to
the scientific community and the public structured in the investigation report
(considered a micro-monography of the respective case).