Racial/ethnic minority vocational research: a content and trend analysis across 36 years.

The authors examined 281 racial/ethnic minority (REM) career-related studies published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, The Career Development Quarterly (CDQ), the Journal of Career Assessment (JCA), and the Journal of Career Development between 1969 and 2004. Publication trends, article content and type, samples, and leading author and institutional contributors are reported. CDQ published the largest percentage of these articles (33.5%, n = 94), whereas JCA had the largest percentage (13%) of REM career articles relative to other articles it published during this time frame. There was an increase in the number of REM career articles being published across the years.

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The increasing diversification in the U.S. general population has been widely documented. At the same time these demographic changes have occurred, there has been a greater representation of diversity within institutional settings such as the labor force and educational environments (Fullerton, 1997; U.S. Department of Labor, 2005). Concomitantly, there is evidence that multicultural issues are being addressed with greater frequency in counseling and that multicultural vocational psychology is gaining strength as a viable area of study (e.g., Byars & McCubbin, 2001; Leong, 1994). However, data regarding the trends and changes in the scholarly literature focusing on the career development of racial/ethnic minorities (REMs) spanning several decades are not well documented. Such information may enhance understanding of career development research with REMs and inform multicultural career counseling practice. Thus, the present study provides the most comprehensive analysis of the multicultural career development research to date by conducting an analysis of racial ethnic minority (REM) career research published in four professional career journals from 1969 to 2004.

Given the importance of research in understanding the career development of REMs in educational and work settings, an overview of the research conducted in this area is essential. The present study seeks to address the limitations in prior studies and to fill in the gaps of knowledge. Specifically, we examine articles published across 36 years in four professional journals and address the following research questions: (a) How much research on the career development of REMs is being conducted? (b) What proportion of articles focus on REM career development for the respective journals? (c) Have the publication trends in REM career research changed significantly over the years? (d) What content areas are being addressed in this area of research? (e) What are the characteristics of the samples being used in these studies? and (f) Who are the scholars and what institutions are contributing to this research area?

An analysis of articles provides a meaningful way to examine the state of affairs of a journal or field (Buboltz, Miller, & Williams, 1999; Hill, Nutt, & Jackson, 1994) and is useful for understanding the development of a research area. In the past, content analysis studies have examined trends of career development research in The Career Development Quarterly (CDQ) and the Journal of Vocational Behavior (JVB; Buboltz, Ebberwein, Watkins, & Savickas, 1995), REM research in counseling (Carter, Akinsulure-Smith, Smailes, & Clauss, 1998; Perez, Constantine, & Gerard, 2000; Ponterotto, 1988), and career development research with REMs (Byars & McCubbin, 2001; Hoyt, 1989; Koegel, Donin, Ponterotto, & Spitz, 1995). Each of these studies analyzed published articles in professional journals, and the findings provided opportunities for the profession to reflect on the current or past "states of the field" and to consider areas of potential development. These studies are limited, however, in that their findings were restricted to one or two journals or a short time span.

Researchers have documented the dearth of empirical articles focusing on the career development of diverse REM groups. Specifically, Hoyt (1989) reviewed articles published in CDQ from 1968 to 1986 and reported that only 2% (n = 22) of the articles pertained to the career development of Blacks, whereas less than 1% (n = 5) focused on all other REM groups combined. Compared with Yungman's (1972) earlier content analysis of the first 16 volumes of the same journal, Hoyt's content analysis found that there was a significant increase in the number of articles on Blacks but no change in the number of articles on other REMs. Relative to the content of all articles published in CDQ across both of these studies, the percentage of articles focusing on diverse REM groups was quite small.

In an analysis of CDQ JVB, and the Journal of Employment Counseling (JEC) across 8 years (1985-1992), Koegel et al. (1995) found that 14% of the articles published during this time focused on U.S. REM and international issues. JVB published the highest percentage of multicultural articles during this period, followed by CDQ and JEC. They indicated that almost 60% of these articles were quantitative, and work-related values and preferences was the topical category most commonly addressed across these studies. In addition, Koegel et al. reported that among the empirical articles, international samples and college students were the most frequently investigated type of multicultural population and sample used, respectively. In addition, a critique of the methodological design of these studies was reported.

A related study by Byars and McCubbin (2001) examined REM career research from 1994 to 1999 across a number of journals from associated disciplines as well as conference papers. Like Koegel et al. (1995), Byars and McCubbin found that the majority of articles were empirical studies (83%), with an increase in the number of qualitative studies. Again, JVB published a higher percentage of REM career articles in relation to other journals. The two most frequently identified topical foci were (a) occupational perceptions, expectations, and interests and (b) occupational goals. Finally, African Americans and college students were the most frequently studied REM group and sample, respectively.

In another study, Arbona (1990) identified 29 articles across nine counseling, vocational, and multicultural journals between 1970 and 1990 that addressed career issues among Latino/as. More recently, Perez et al. (2000) reported that 12% of articles published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) from 1988 to 1997 focused on racial and ethnic issues, and of those, 16% attended to career issues of diverse racial and ethnic groups. The findings reported by Koegel et al. (1995), Perez et al., and Arbona suggest that a number of studies in the multicultural vocational area are being published in the selected professional journals. However, whether these statistics indicate a significant growth in the development of multicultural vocational psychology research has yet to be determined because of the inconsistencies in the journals investigated and the lag time between periods that were investigated.

Understanding the publication trends in the career development of REMs may provide important information in understanding counseling as a profession, as well as its specialty area of vocational development. Although previous studies have examined general counseling and vocational psychology research trends, and more specifically, REM career development research trends, these studies had a relatively small scope with regard to years and/or journals examined. In addition, none of the prior studies that examined multicultural career development reported trends across years. Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide a broad examination of published articles that addressed the career development of U.S. REMs across the following four vocational journals: JVB, CDQ the Journal of Career Assessment (JCA), and the Journal of Career Development (JCD). The four vocational journals were chosen because they focus solely on career issues and are recognized and widely used by career counseling professionals. In this study, we were interested in (a) investigating trends across time within and across professional journals in the number of articles focusing on the career development of REMs, (b) identifying the major constructs investigated in these articles, (c) describing the types of articles most often published and the characteristics of samples used in empirical articles, and (d) examining individual and institutional productivity.

Method

Journals

Articles published in four vocational journals (JVB, 1971-2004; CDQ 1969-2004; JCA, 1993-2004; and JCD, formerly the Journal of Career Education, 1972, 1974-2004) were compiled for analyses. JCD published its initial issue in 1972 and did not publish another issue until 1974. The data that we collected covered the publication life of JVB, JCD, and JCA from inception of the journal to 2004. Data were recorded for articles that focused on the career development issues of U.S. REMs, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino/a Americans, and Native Americans. Other U.S. underrepresented groups and international populations were not included in the study. To qualify as an REM career article, an article needed to have had as its primary focus the career concerns of individuals from the aforementioned groups. For quantitative studies, samples must have consisted of at least 50% of people of color or data needed to be analyzed and reported by REM group. In the latter case, this included some articles that had extremely large samples in which REMs did not represent 50% of the participants in the study but reported findings separately by REM group. Editor notes and published minutes of division business meetings were not considered for inclusion in the study. A total of 4,181 articles were published across the four journals during the period of investigation. Of these, we identified 281 articles that addressed vocational issues of REMs.

Data Recording

Each article was coded using the following variables: journal title, volume number, issue number, article title, article type (e.g., empirical, conceptual), year of publication, author(s), institution(s), racial and ethnic group, sample type (e.g., high school students, college students, adults), and total sample size. In addition, articles were examined to determine if they provided descriptive sample data for race/ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation. If these data were reported, numbers and percentages were reported for each group.

Content Analysis

The present study used all content categories identified (n = 23) in two previous content analysis studies of REM career development (Koegel et al., 1995, n = 11; Byars & McCubbin, 2001, n = 12). Additional categories were generated during the process when we were unable to code articles within the 23 preestablished content categories or when the preestablished content categories did not provide an adequate description of the article. Our analysis resulted in an additional 6 content categories that provided a better description of the topical foci that were not captured in the preestablished categories. In addition, definitions were created for all content categories to provide better consistency in ratings, to improve understanding of content within each topic area, and to provide descriptions that can be used in future studies.

The coding of articles was conducted by two teams, each consisting of two raters who reviewed and categorized each article according to its topical content, or the most relevant content of an article. One coding team consisted of a Latina female assistant professor and a White female 2nd-year master's student. The second coding team was composed of a White female 4th-year doctoral student and a Latina female 2nd-year doctoral student. Prior to coding the articles, the raters underwent a 2-hour training session in which the list of categories were reviewed and discussed, and the coding procedure was outlined. The teams conducted a practice coding session using 10 articles to ensure that individuals and teams were consistent in their coding. After the training session, the coding teams met separately to code articles. Each member of the coding team independently reviewed and coded all articles. Each article could be coded into a maximum of three content areas that reflected the most salient content of the article. Following the completion of individual codings, the members of each team compared and discussed their respective categorizations until ultimately reaching consensus regarding the final categories for each article. Kappa coefficient was used to measure the agreement of categorizations between the two teams. We obtained a coefficient of .73, indicating a good level of agreement between both coding teams. Next, the two coding teams met to identify and discuss any discrepancies and reached a consensus regarding the final categories for each article.

Productivity of Researchers

To calculate individual productivity, we used a formula developed by Howard, Cole, and Maxwell (1987) that has been used in other productivity studies. Individual credit was calculated based on the total number of authors and authorship position, with sole authors receiving full credit (1.0) and multiple authors receiving partial credit based on their authorship position. The formula is

individual credit = ([1.5.sup.n-i])/([n.summation over (i=1)] [1.5.sup.i-1]),

where n is the total number of authors for a particular article and i is that author's position (first, second, third, etc.). For example, for an article with two authors, we assigned credit of .6 and .4 for the first and second authors, respectively. Similarly, for articles with three authors, the first, second, and third authors received .47, .32, and .21 credit, respectively.

Institutional Productivity

Institutional credit was calculated using the same formula that was used to determine individual productivity, where credit was assigned based on the position of the institution on the byline. The only modification to this formula was that in some instances of multiple-authored articles, an institution was listed more than once. In this case, the sum of all credit was calculated. Thus, if an article had three authors and the first and third authors were from the same institution, that institution received .68 (.47 + .21) credit, and the institution listed second received .32 credit.

Results

Trend Analyses

Of all articles across all journals and years, 281 (6.7%) focused on both career development and REMs. CDQ published the largest percentage of these articles (33.5%, n = 94), followed by JVB (32.3%, n = 91), JCD (18.9%, n = 53), and JCA (15.3%, n = 43). Table 1 indicates the percentage of REM career articles relative to other articles published across each journal. At 13%, JCA had the largest percentage of articles, whereas JVB had the lowest percentage of articles devoted to REM career-related issues at 5.1%.

Table 2 indicates the percentage of REM career articles published across the years for all journals. Bivariate correlations indicate that the percentage of REM career articles is positively related to year for all journals (r = .51, p < .01). Correlates for CDQ JCA, and JCD were as follows: .43, .62, and .63, respectively (for all correlations, p < .01). Significant correlations were not found between percentage of REM career articles and year for JVB (r = -.18, p > .05). Figure 1 displays the publication trends across the years. The highest percentage of REM career articles were published within the past 14 years (i.e., 1991, 1994, 1999, 2000, and 2002). Years that yielded less than 2% of REM career articles occurred in the late 1970s and mid-1980s (i.e., 1979, 1984, 1985, and 1987). Figure 2 shows the publication trends of REM career articles across the years for the vocational journals relative to other articles within each journal.

Content Analysis

Results from the content analysis indicate that a wide range of topics are being addressed in vocational research related to REMs (see Table 3 for a complete list of topical categories and rankings). The most common topic addressed contextual or environmental factors related to the career development of REMs. Examples of articles in this category include those that examined influences of the family, socioeconomic status background, and location (e.g., urban or suburban). Racial and gender issues related to career development were the second- and third-ranked topics, respectively. Articles that addressed racial bias and discrimination and sexual harassment are examples of articles categorized under these two areas, respectively. In addition, empirical articles that compared findings across racial or gender groups were also coded under these categories. The next most commonly identified topics were (a) assessment; (b) career counseling; and (c) occupational perceptions, expectations, and interests. Examples of assessment articles included those that validated career-related measures with REM groups or discussed culturally appropriate assessment procedures. Articles categorized under career counseling focused on interventions and strategies in career practice. Finally, the occupational perceptions, expectations, and interests category included articles that addressed viewpoints on careers and career-related interests.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Of interest is the fact that culture-specific variables, such as racial/ethnic identity, acculturation, and application/validation of culture-specific theory, are addressed with relatively less frequency compared with other career constructs. None of these areas of research were ranked among the top 10 topical categories.

Article and Sample Characteristics

In our analysis of the articles, we found that the majority were empirical (66.2%, n = 186), with 21.4% (n = 60) classified as conceptual/theoretical, 5.7% (n = 16) as reviews, 3.2% (n = 9) as commentaries or reactions, and 3.6% (n = 10) as "other." (Percentages do not equal 100% because of rounding.) With regard to the REM group of focus in the article, most addressed issues relevant to culturally diverse groups in general or attended to career concerns of mixed racial and ethnic groups (50.5%, n = 170). Among the various REM groups, African Americans were the focus of 25.6% (n = 72) of the articles, with 7.8% (n = 22) addressing Latino/a issues, 3.6% (n = 10) addressing Asian American concerns, and 2.5% (n = 7) focusing solely on Native Americans.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Among the empirical articles, participant samples of undergraduate students (28%, n = 52), high school students (27.4%, n = 51), and adults (23.1%, n = 43) were used most frequently. The remaining samples were composed of middle/elementary school students (4.8%, n = 9) and mixed age groups (4.3%, n = 8). This information was missing for the remaining studies (11.4%, n = 23). Most of the empirical studies had racially mixed samples (61.8%, n = 115), whereas 26.9% were composed solely of African Americans (n = 50), 8.6% included only Latino/as (n = 16), 2.2% focused exclusively on Native Americans (n = 4), and 0.5% contained only Asian Americans (n = 1). We examined the size of the REM samples and found that 22% (n = 41, M = 59.15) had samples of fewer than 100 participants, 26.9% (n = 50, M= 146.22) had samples of 100-199 participants, 16.1% (n = 30, M = 283.50) had samples of 200-299 participants, 12.4% (n = 23, M = 364.83) had samples of 300-499 participants, 9.7% (n = 18, M= 654.78) had samples of 500-999 participants, and 10.8% (n = 20, M = 5,915.45) had samples of 1,000 or more participants. Four articles (2.1%) did not indicate sample size by REM group. The majority (91.9%, n = 171) of articles reported the race/ethnicity of participants. On the other hand, gender was reported 73.7% of the time (n = 137), and age (39.2%, n = 73) was rarely reported. Sexual orientation of participants was reported in a single study (0.5%).

Individual Productivity

A total of 436 authors were identified as authors or coauthors in articles pertaining to REM career psychology. Table 4 lists and ranks the main contributors to REM career-related scholarship in the selected journals from 1969 to 2004. Contributors who received a weighted score of 3.0 or above and who published at least three articles were ranked. The top two researchers in this area were Nadya A. Fouad and Frederick T. L. Leong.

Institutional Contributors

Institutional productivity analysis yielded a total of 181 institutions, not including individuals in private practice or those not affiliated with an institution. The weighted contribution scores ranged from 0.01 to 21.02, with an average score of 1.27 (SD = 2.10). Table 5 lists the 15 institutions that obtained scores at least 1 standard deviation above the mean. The Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee were the most productive institutions of REM career articles. These two institutions alone were responsible for more than 12% of the REM career articles published in the four target journals during the study period.

Discussion

This study is the first to provide an extensive, historical review of REM career articles published in four professional career journals across 36 years. A study of this scope and magnitude allows career professionals to examine the state of affairs of this body of literature (Buboltz et al., 1999). It provides an opportunity to reflect on where career counseling has come as a specialty area and helps to inform professionals in the field regarding the direction it is heading. In particular, we investigated trends within and across journals in terms of the number of REM career articles published compared with other articles. We also examined the primary content of these articles, article and sample characteristics, and author and institutional contributions to the study of REM career development.

Our results showed that almost 7%, or 281, of the 4,181 articles published during the study period focused on career-related issues with REMs. This percentage is significantly lower than the 14% rate that Koegel et al. (1995) found in their examination of three career journals across 8 years. The differences between these two studies are likely related to the wider scope of the present study in both years and number of journals reviewed. In addition, Koegel et al. included articles attending to international career issues, whereas we did not.

The results of the correlational analysis indicated that there was a positive trend over the years in the percentage of REM career articles published across all journals as well as those published in CDQ JCD, and JCA. This trend was not found in JVB. REM career publications were significantly on the rise in the early 1990s, compared with earlier decades. Relatively fewer REM career articles were published between 1969 and 1990. The increasing number of REM career articles published in the 1990s may be due to a number of factors. First, this increase may have resulted from a response to calls in the literature to attend to the career development of diverse racial and ethnic populations (e.g., Arbona, 1990; Carter & Cook, 1992; Thomas & Alderfer, 1989). Other possible explanations for the increase in the number of REM career articles published in the 1990s are the creation of JCA, which published several articles on REM career concerns, and special sections or issues in the selected journals that addressed REM populations. The increase in the number of REM career articles mirrors trends in the representation of REM students and professionals in psychology over the same period of our investigation (Bernal & Castro, 1994) and efforts to increase the representation of REM professionals in counseling psychology (Atkinson, Brown, & Casas, 1996). The increase of REM professionals in the field leads to a greater likelihood that these trends will continue, because these students and professionals may be more interested in examining race-related issues in their careers and research. Other explanations for this publication trend include (a) the increased attention to multicultural issues within psychology in general, and especially in counseling psychology, as well as (b) the changing editorships and composition of journal editorial boards.

Between 1969 and 2004, CDQ published the greatest number of REM career articles, whereas JCA had the greatest proportion of articles on REM career-related issues relative to non-REM career articles. Given that JCA is a relatively newer publication than the other journals and was created during a time that coincided with the increase in the number of REM career articles being published, this finding is not surprising. It is noteworthy, however, that 13% of JCA's articles focused on REM career issues, with all the other journals reporting much lower percentages. Census data from 2000 indicate that at least 25% of the U.S. population identify as Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian. In addition, more than 12% identify as Hispanic or Latino/a. Given these population statistics, more REM career research is warranted to better reflect the diversity of the U.S. population, as well as the educational and work settings. Without such research, this body of literature will likely promote a biased understanding of career development and the psychology of work (Blustein, 2001; Byars & McCubbin, 2001; Richardson, 1993).

The results indicated that of the 29 categories used in the content analysis, the most frequently addressed content areas in the REM career articles were (a) contextual factors, (b) racial issues (e.g., racial bias, racial discrimination), (c) gender issues (e.g., gender differences), and (d) assessment. On the other hand, little attention has been given to issues of application/validation of culture-specific theories, acculturation, occupational stress, and career patterns. The two leading topical areas reported in previous studies (Byars & McCubbin, 2001; Koegel et al., 1995), occupational perceptions, expectations, and interest and work-related values and preferences, ranked lower in the present study. These differences may indicate that the focus of REM career articles may change in relation to the current zeitgeist and calls made in the literature to attend to certain areas. These changes may also reflect the values and interests held by scholars, journal editors, and reviewers at a certain time (Buboltz et al., 1999; Whiteley, 1984). For example, on the basis of their findings, Koegel et al. recommended that future research in REM career articles address psychosocial factors that may influence career behavior (e.g., discrimination, oppression). They also suggested that future research include more gender comparisons and constructs that allow within-group differences among REM populations to be examined (e.g., acculturation, racial identity). Our study indicates that more articles are in fact addressing racial and gender issues. However, relatively fewer studies are addressing relevant cultural variables. More attention is needed to understand how both cultural and gender variables (e.g., acculturation, ethnic identity, gender role attitudes, cultural values, work-family balance) are related to the career development of REMs. Such knowledge would allow practitioners and researchers to better understand within-group differences and multiple identities among REM populations. Future researchers may also consider investigating trends in content foci across the years. Such information would identify emerging topical areas, as well as topics that are trendy versus those that maintain their permanence over time.

Furthermore, like Byars and McCubbin (2001) and Koegel et al. (1995), we found that a paucity of the literature examines the application and validation of culture-specific theories to the career development of REMs. Although the application of mainstream theory has been an important focus area in this line of research, the development of culture-specific theories and models are essential to better formulate how cultural contexts and REM status influence vocational processes (Byars & McCubbin, 2001; Carter & Cook, 1992). A topical area that we added in our study, assessment, suggests that more studies are validating career instruments with REM groups. The creation of a journal that specifically focuses on career assessment (JCA) contributed greatly to the number of studies that address this area.

We also assessed the type of articles that were published and found that 66% of the articles were empirical; this finding is similar to Koegel et al.'s (1995). Of these empirical articles, the majority were quantitative (vs. qualitative) articles. Empirical research has been noted as critical for a field of study to further knowledge, to be on the cutting edge, and to gain respect (e.g., Herr & Fabian, 1993). The fact that a large portion of REM career articles are data-based studies suggests that despite increased costs and difficulty in collecting data from REM groups (Iwamasa & Smith, 1996; Sue, 1999), scholars are successful in getting and publishing data on these underresearched populations. Yet the field of REM career research can be considered to be in its infancy, and more quantitative and qualitative studies can help career counselors understand the career development process of REMs at a deeper level. A recent study that examined the ideas and purpose of work of a diverse sample of urban high school students provides an excellent example of how qualitative inquiry can help researchers understand the meaning of career with culturally diverse populations (Chaves et al., 2004).

Perhaps as important as the need for empirical investigations to advance a field of study is the samples that are investigated. Of the 281 REM career articles, most addressed issues of REMs as a whole. Among articles that focused on one REM group, most attended to career issues of African Americans, whereas Native Americans and Asian Americans received the least attention. These patterns also emerged among the empirical articles in our study, and other researchers have noted similar patterns of the use of REM groups in empirical investigations (Nilsson et al., 2003). Scholars have suggested that investigations should not lump all REMs together (e.g., Sue, 1999), because such studies perpetuate the belief that REM groups are the same and that the issues they encounter in their career development are similar. Clearly, our findings indicate that additional research that addresses within-group differences among each of the REM groups is sorely needed. New professionals are encouraged to develop programmatic lines of career research that focus on a single REM group.

Regarding other sample characteristics reported, gender was reported in almost three quarters and age in just over one third of the studies. One reason that age was not frequently reported may be because participants' grade level was provided rather than actual age. Surprisingly, sexual orientation was reported in only one study. This failure to include sexual orientation when describing samples has been noted previously (Munley et al., 2002; Nilsson et al., 2003). Although sexual orientation information may not be appropriate in all types of studies, such as those on children, it may be that the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation has not been considered important in studies given the lack of research in both areas. For example, Phillips, Ingram, Smith, and Mindes (2003) highlighted the lack of empirical research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, particularly among LGBT persons of color. Career research on LGBT individuals of color is important but can occur only if it becomes common practice to assess not only race/ethnicity and gender but also sexual orientation.

The most commonly studied samples were high school or undergraduate students, who composed 55% of the samples. This finding suggests a possible "over-reliance on student samples" (Koegel et al., 1995, p. 59), because they are typically more accessible than other populations of interest. Although examining the career development of REM undergraduate and high school students is important, it is equally important to learn about career behaviors of members of the community at large. Including members of the community will allow for a broader and more generalizable picture of the career development of REMs. Another issue associated with generalizability is sample size. Slightly more than 20% of the samples used in this research had fewer than 100 participants, and an additional 27% had samples composed of fewer than 200 participants, which can have implications regarding the generalizability and power of the findings (Ponterotto & Casas, 1991). However, we recognize that sample size is a function of research questions and design and that small sample sizes are not necessarily a limitation of all studies.

The results also indicate that a broad range of individuals are contributing to this area of scholarship. We identified 436 authors who contributed to the REM career literature, and among these, 6 authors stood out because of their significant contributions to this body of literature. Specifically, these 6 authors produced 14.6% of the 281 REM career articles. The 2 scholars who have been most productive in this area, Nadya A. Fouad and Frederick T. L. Leong, contributed to 9% of the REM career articles. Not surprisingly, The Ohio State University (where Leong spent much of his career) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (where Fouad has spent her entire career) were the top-ranked institutions for producing REM career research. These two institutions alone contributed to more than 12% of the research in this area, with the top 5 institutions being responsible for 22% of this literature. Still, 181 institutions from all over the country were represented in this literature.

The findings of this study should be viewed in light of its potential limitations. As with any study of this nature, reliance on raters' judgment on the inclusion and categorization of articles may have resulted in some articles not being selected or the miscategorization of some articles. To reduce the possibility of this occurring, after the initial round of data collection, a team of four of the researchers went through each of the journals by hand to double-check (and at times, triple-check) articles and also to recheck articles that were included to ensure that they met the criteria for inclusion. Another potential limitation was the method used to calculate institutional productivity. Because of the number of articles in our analyses, we decided not to take into account articles that may have been based on the dissertations and theses of authors who completed their research at one institution, then moved to another institution prior to publishing their work, as was done by Tinsley and Tinsley (1979) and Perez et al. (2000). This may have resulted in some institutions receiving less credit and others more credit than would have been awarded if our calculations were done differently. In addition, our findings are likely to be affected by the number of scholars producing research in this area and their annual productivity. We have no data that indicate the actual number of people conducting REM career research, the proportion of REM career manuscripts that are submitted to journals each year, and the proportion of these articles that are accepted or rejected. Journal editors may consider tracking these data; such data could illuminate areas within the publication pipeline that may need to be strengthened. It is possible that although the overall publication rates are low, journals may be accepting these studies at higher rates relative to other research areas.

On a related note, our study does not determine whether the research produced by the leading contributors has had an impact on the field. Citation analysis studies are needed to identify the articles in this area of study that have been used widely and the authors linked to those articles. Content analyses of REM career articles could also examine research questions and research designs to provide a methodological critique of this literature. Another limitation is that our findings are limited to the journals we reviewed. Although the current study examined more journals than prior studies, we simply could not include all journals that publish REM career research because of the time frame we covered. The inclusion of other journals might reveal different publication patterns and leading contributors of REM career research. Future researchers should consider extending these results to journals that focus exclusively on REM research, such as the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, as well as counseling journals that publish career-related studies, such as the Journal of Counseling & Development and the Journal of Counseling Psychology.

Given the increasing diversity of the U.S. work force, the need to understand the career behaviors, career concerns, and career development of REMs will continue to grow into the next decade. Echoing the call for more research in this area already stated by others, we recommend that more research be conducted that better reflects the diversity of this country. With 25% of the country's population identifying as a member of an REM group, career journals in particular should aim to increase the percentage of articles published in this area. Similarly, in order to be more representative of the work force, a greater percentage of the articles published in this area should include nonstudent samples. Methodological diversity and more research on career development across the life span are also needed. Researchers should also increase the use of qualitative procedures to address some of the pertinent questions in this area.

Practitioners working with REM clients on career-related issues should also become more critical in evaluating and applying the results of career-related articles to their clients, ensuring that samples used in the research they consult are adequately described and appropriate for generalization to their particular client populations. On the basis of the present findings, it is clear that more is known about the contextual factors and the racial and gender issues related to the career development of REMs, but less is known about career planning, occupational stress, and career patterns of this group. We hope that practitioners who work with REM career clients become more involved in research that addresses the career development of this population.

To conclude, our study examined publication trends of REM career research in four journals across 36 years. Overall, we found that a relatively small proportion of the literature is devoted to the career concerns of REMs, although publication trends indicate that more REM career articles are being published. Given the educational gaps and continued occupational segregation based on race/ethnicity in the United States, more research is needed to understand the career development process of REMs.

References

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Atkinson, D. R., Brown, D. T., & Casas, J. M. (1996). Achieving ethnic parity in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 24, 230-258.

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Lisa Y. Flores, Lizette Ojeda, Shiloh E. Jordan, and Ginger L. Lynn, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia; La Vene A. Berkel and Johanna E. Nilsson, Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Veronica M. Leal, Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University. The authors appreciate Sharon Lee's assistance on a portion of the data set. The authors are also grateful to research team members at The Ohio State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City who assisted with the data collection. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lisa Y. Flores, 16 Hill Hall, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211 (e-mail: [e-mail]).

TABLE 1 Percentage of Racial/Ethnic Minority Career Articles Published
in Each Journal

                                  Total REM            % REM
                                  Career     Total     Career
Journal                           Articles   Articles  Articles

Journal of Career Assessment       43          331     13.0
The Career Development Quarterly   94        1,191      7.9
Journal of Career Development      53          859      6.2
Journal of Vocational Behavior     91        1,800      5.1
Total                             281        4,181      6.7

Note. REM = racial/ethnic minority.

TABLE 2 Publication Trends by Year: Percentage of Racial/Ethnic Minority
Career Articles Overall and Across Journals

           % REM Career Articles
Year   JVB   CDQ   JCD   JCA   Overall

1969   --     4.3  --    --     4.3
1970   --     2.1  --    --     2.1
1971   11.1   3.2  --    --     7.5
1972    8.6   8.1   0.0  --     7.8
1973    4.0  10.8  --    --     7.2
1974    6.5   2.4   0.0  --     4.9
1975   10.1   0.0   0.0  --     5.1
1976    8.1   5.0   3.7  --     6.4
1977    4.6  11.4   0.0  --     5.7
1978    5.6   3.0   6.8  --     5.3
1979    3.4   0.0   0.0  --     1.6
1980   10.5   2.3   0.0  --     5.1
1981    6.6   5.2   7.8  --     6.6
1982    3.3   7.3  10.3  --     6.2
1983    7.1  10.3   4.1  --     6.8
1984    0.0   3.3   0.0  --     0.9
1985    2.1   0.0   2.5  --     1.8
1986    5.8   4.1   0.0  --     3.7
1987    0.0   0.0   0.0  --     0.0
1988    4.0   5.8   0.0  --     3.5
1989    0.0  13.0   4.1  --     4.4
1990    2.2   6.0   0.0  --     2.8
1991    2.5  34.2   0.0  --    12.9
1992    5.7   7.6   0.0  --     5.9
1993    0.0  13.9   7.1   3.2   6.0
1994   13.1   6.0   6.0  34.4  14.3
1995    2.5   6.0  12.5  10.7   7.2
1996    2.2  18.7  16.0   0.0   8.4
1997    6.0   9.3  15.7  13.3   9.9
1998    7.6   9.3  13.6   8.0   9.2
1999    1.9  20.0  42.8   8.0  13.8
2000    0.0  14.2  18.1  25.8  12.4
2001    4.8   3.7  13.0  12.0   7.3
2002    6.1  18.2  11.1   7.7  10.3
2003    7.9   3.0  19.0  13.0   9.3
2004    0.0  12.0   5.6  17.2   8.2
Total   5.1   7.9   6.2  13.0   6.7

Note. REM = racial/ethnic minority; JVB = Journal of Vocational
Behavior; CDQ = The Career Development Quarterly; JCD = Journal of
Career Development; JCA = Journal of Career Assessment. Dashes indicate
years in which a journal was not published.

TABLE 3 Topical Areas of Racial/Ethnic Minority Career Research Used in
the Content Analysis

                                                   Overall    Overall
Ranking and Topical Category                       Frequency  Proportion

1. Contextual factors: environmental or            83         .120
   background influences (e.g., SES, family,
   location) (b)
2. Racial issues: racial and ethnic group          73         .105
   comparisons; issues specific to a racial or
   ethnic group (e.g., bias and
   discrimination) (a)
3. Gender issues: gender group comparisons;        61         .088
   issues specific to women's or men's career
   development (e.g., work-family balance) (a)
4. Assessment: instrument development or           50         .072
   validation; career assessment process and
   models (c)
5. Career counseling: counseling strategies,       41         .059
   interventions, approaches, and cases (c)
6. Occupational perceptions, expectations, and     35         .051
   interests: career beliefs, intentions, and
   interests (a)
7. Validation of mainstream theory: application    32         .046
   of traditional career theories (e.g.,
   Holland's [1997] typology theory, social
   cognitive career theory) (a)
7. Career maturity: readiness to make a career     32         .046
   choice; ability to make a career decision (a)
9. Occupational goals: measured or expressed       30         .043
   career aspirations (c)
10. Self-efficacy and self-concept: appraisal of   27         .039
    self-efficacy beliefs and self-concept (a)
11. Developmental: focus on developmental stages   24         .035
    or career transitions (e.g., school-to-work,
    retirement, job loss) (b)
12. Evaluation of career services: program         20         .029
    evaluation or assessment of career services
    outside primary/secondary schools (b)
13. Racial/ethnic identity: based on racial/       17         .025
    ethnic identity development models (b)
13. Career choice: expressed career choice and     17         .025
    selection; orientation toward career (b)
15. Achievement: individual accomplishments,       15         .022
    success, promotion, and recognition within
    the workplace and academic settings (c)
15. Workplace issues: focus on organizational-     15         .022
    level concerns and decisions (e.g.,
    recruitment, retention, hiring,
    promotion) (c)
17. Mentoring: mentor-protege dyads; mentoring     12         .017
    programs; providing advice or modeling
    behaviors (b)
17. Work-related values and preferences:           12         .017
    important dimensions to an individual that
    are sought after in work or the workplace (a)
19. Application/validation of culture-specific     11         .016
    theory: use of a theory specific to race or
    culture (b)
20. Career education: career guidance in           10         .014
    schools (c)
21. Job satisfaction: individual satisfaction in    9         .013
    the workplace (a)
22. Consequence theory and well-being: reflect      8         .012
    positive psychological constructs (a)
22. Career decision making: the ability to use      8         .012
    knowledge and thought to make career
    plans (b)
24. Personality and career commitment:              6         .009
    understanding role of personality variables
    in career development; being personally
    committed to one's career (a)
25. Career planning: planned strategy for career    5         .007
    development (b)
26. Profile of vocational interests cross-          3         .004
    culturally: career interests profiled using
    Holland's (1997) hexagon (a)
27. Occupational stress: job-related tentions,      2         .003
    anxiety, and stress (b)
28. Acculturation: assessment of acculturation or   1         .001
    application of acculturation models (b)
28. Career patterns: sociological trends or         1         .001
    career trends (b)
Other: not otherwise specified (e.g., content      17         .025
    analyses, personal narratives)

Note. SES = socioeconomic status.
(a) Categories used by Koegel et al. (1995). (b) Categories used by
Byars and McCubbin (2001). (c) Categories added in the current study.

TABLE 4 Author Contributions to the Scholarship of Racial/Ethnic
Minority Career Development in Each Journal

Author and                    No. of    Weighted
Institutional History         Articles  Score     Rank  Research Area

Nadya A. Fouad PhD, 1984,     12        7.16      1     Ethnically
  University of Minnesota;                                diverse,
  1984-present, faculty,                                  cross-
  University of Wisconsin-                                cultural,
  Milwaukee                                               Latino/as
Frederick T. L. Leong PhD,    13        6.96      2     Asian Americans,
  1988, The University of                                 cross-cultural
  Maryland; 1987-1991,
  faculty, Southern Illinois
  University; 1991-2003,
  faculty, The Ohio State
  University; 2003-2006,
  faculty, University of
  Tennessee-Knoxville;
  2006-present, faculty,
  Michigan State University
Jane L. Swanson PhD, 1986,     5        3.21      3     African
  University of Minnesota;                                Americans
  1986-present, faculty,
  Southern Illinois
  University at Carbondale
John M. Dillard PhD, 1975,     4        3.20      4     Black, Puerto
  State University of New                                 Rican youth
  York at Buffalo; 1975,
  adjunct faculty, State
  University of New York at
  Buffalo; 1978, visiting
  faculty, University of
  Carabobo, Venezuela; 1980-
  1984, faculty, Oklahoma
  State University; 1985-
  1990, faculty, Texas A & M
  University; 1991-present,
  faculty, University of
  Louisville
Sharon L. Bowman PhD, 1989,    4        3.00      5     African
  Southern Illinois                                       Americans,
  University; 1989-                                       ethnic
  present, faculty, Ball                                  minorities
  State University
Elsie J. Smith No              3        3.00      5     Blacks
  biographical history
  located

Note. The following journals were used in the analysis: the Journal of
Career Assessment, The Career Development Quarterly, the Journal of
Career Development, and the Journal of Vocational Behavior.

TABLE 5 Institutional Contributions to Racial/Ethnic Minority Career
Research in JVB, CDQ, JCD, and JCA

                                    Weighted            Relative
Institution                         Contribution  Rank  Contribution (a)

The Ohio State University            21.02         1    .077
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee    12.15         2    .045
University of Missouri-Columbia      10.84         3    .040
Southern Illinois University-         9.05         4    .033
  Carbondale
The University of Maryland-College    6.44         5    .024
  Park
Texas A & M University                5.17         6    .019
University of Houston                 4.97         7    .018
University of North Carolina-         4.88         8    .018
  Chapel Hill
University of Georgia                 4.53         9    .017
Oklahoma State University             4.40        10    .016
Georgia State University              4.30        11    .016
Ball State University                 4.21        12    .015
University of Missouri-Kansas City    3.89        13    .014
University of Illinois-Urbana         3.40        14    .013
  Champaign
Colorado State University             3.40        14    .013
Total                               102.65              .378

Note. JVB = Journal of Vocational Behavior; CDQ = The Career Development
Quarterly; JCD = Journal of Career Development; JCA = Journal of Career
Assessment. (a) The relative contribution of racial/ethnic minority
career articles was calculated by dividing the weighted contribution of
each university by the sum of all universities' weighted contributions.