How to design and conduct quantitative coaching intervention research

Abstract

For the coaching research agenda to support evidence-based practitioners, coaching research needs to provide the best possible external research evidence to support practitioners in answering particular questions of interest. Quantitative coaching research has an important role to play in supporting evidence-based practitioners to answer questions around the efficacy and generalisability of coaching interventions. This paper outlines three key criteria for designing and conducting rigorous quantitative coaching intervention studies: (i) methodological rigour in the study design; (ii) rigour in outcome measurement in coaching intervention studies; and (iii) investigating processes of change in coaching interventions. The intention is that coaching psychology researchers can use these methodological recommendations to design quantitative coaching intervention studies that meet criteria for quality and rigour in the future.