**3. Methodology**

This study used a qualitative exploratory research design to examine the research question. A qualitative approach is ideal for this study because it allows the researchers to explore detailed accounts of problematic experiences of the counselors and the webs of social relationship that join persons to one another [40]. Qualitative methods are widely advocated for investigative inquiry into issues and topics that have not received considerable attention and to promote participatory research [41].

Ethics approval for conducting this study was obtained in 2010 from the University of Calgary Research Ethics Committee. The study was conducted during 2010–2013. Counselors from six publicly funded community colleges in the province of Alberta were contacted by a student research assistant to gain first-hand understanding of the student groups they serve, the kinds of student problems they encounter, the services they offer, and the difficulties they face in meeting the needs of students and managing their own workload. Based on the information provided by the counselors, a semi-structured interview schedule was developed which was then used for subsequent in-depth interviews with college counselors. Following this, counselors from 12 (including six that were previously contacted) publicly funded community colleges in the province were contacted by telephone, to tell them about the study and request them to participate in a one hour face-to-face or telephone interview. Private colleges were excluded from the study as their student cohorts and support services are different. Ten counselors from seven community colleges from across the province agreed to participate. They had between 3 and 20 years of experience as counselors. Four interviews were conducted face to face while the remaining six interviews were conducted via the telephone. Chance of misinformation by the interviewer was minimized by audiotaping the interviews with the counselor's prior permission and transcribing them verbatim.

The method of constant comparison was used for identifying codes, categories, and themes that helped to make meaning of the raw data and to transform it into a coherent depiction of the counselors' experiences [42]. Each transcript was read several times independently by two researchers to obtain an overall understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by the counselors. An initial coding framework was established based on the first few interviews. The researchers then conducted independent coding, and their codes were compared to ensure interrater reliability. The coders also wrote ongoing self-reflective memos documenting their personal reactions and thoughts on each counselor's narratives about their experiences, challenges, and needs. These memos helped in developing specific questions to target during later interviews, and these were included in the data analysis. An audit trail was maintained for the whole research process. Other measures that were taken to increase the rigor of the results included checking the comments of each participant counselor against those of others, debriefing after the interview, and including several direct quotes while discussing the results of the study.
