There are five identified steps to the CIT method as mentioned in the"Using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique in Counselling Psychology Research" article, found in the Topic 7 Resources. Clearly all five are important. Please choose the one you believe to be most critical. Describe it and then discuss why you believe it is the most critical step.

Most critical is step 3- Collecting the Data.

Step 1: Ascertaining the Ceneral Aims of the Activity Being Studied

Once the researcher has clarified the domain of inquiry, formed the research question, and determined that the CIT is the appropriate method, the first step in using the CIT, according to Flanagan (1954), is ascertaining the general aims ofthe activity being studied. As stated by Butterfield et al. (2005, p. 478), "un- derstanding the general aim of the activity is intended to answer two questions: (a) what is the objective of the activity; and (b) what is the person expected to accomplish who engages in the activity"? Our study focused on the naturally occurring, self-renewing, self-sustaining strategies used by workers who self- identified as doing well despite changes affecting their work. Participants were selected based on having experienced changes affecting their work, self-reporting that they had handled the changes well, being prepared to talk about what had helped or hindered their ability to handle the changes well, and being available for two interviews. The purpose ofthe research interview was to elicit the discrete strategies of these workers in order to build a composite picture ofthe approaches used by these successful workers that they perceived as helping or hindering them in being successful, and those they thought would have been helpful.

Step 2: Making Plans and Setting Speciflcations

Once the researcher has determined the general aims of the activities or psy- chological processes to be studied, the next step in a CIT study is to make plans and set specifications (Flanagan, 1954), which has been described as "(a) defining the types of situations to be observed, (b) determining the situations relevance to the general aim, (c) understanding the extent of the effect the incident has on the general aim, and (d) deciding who will make the observations" (Butterfield et al., 2005, p. 478). This involves deciding what to observe or ask about; creating an interview guide or set of protocols for interviewers to follow; and training people in the purpose of the study, the intent of the questions, and how to conduct CIT interviews. In essence, this process helps ensure that everyone involved understands the aim of the study and follows similar procedures so consistency is maintained across researchers involved in conducting the CIT interviews.

Using an interview guide is a particularly valuable tool for CIT researchers. As in other qualitative research studies, it serves as a record of the interview, a back-up in case of equipment failure, a way of keeping the interviewer focused on the participant's story, and a resource for referring back to previous comments made by the participant that require follow-up. It also serves as a tool to ensure all interview guide questions have been asked and responded to. The format of the interview guide is important in a CIT study to ensure ease of identifying critical incidents (CIs) and WL items, and that the supporting details for each item (an example, and the importance of the item for the participant in the experience being studied) is captured during the research interview. Earlier CIT studies we conducted did not format the interview guide in this way, making it difficult to ascertain what data constituted a CI or "WL item. Appendix A provides an example of the interview guide format used for our study.

Step 3: Collecting the Data

Data collection in a CIT study involving psychological concepts is primarily done via interviews, either in person or over the telephone. The major vehicle for collecting the CIT data is the first interview. It is important to ensure interview- ers are trained to conduct the interviews, obtain informed consent, and address any questions participants may have about the interviewer or the research study. Although Flanagan (1954) advocated collecting data through expert observation, that is often not possible when exploring psychological constructs or experiences from the individual's perspective.

In our experience, using the CIT in counselling psychology research is most effective when data are collected through in-person interviews. Establishing rap- port, allowing participants to tell their story during the contextual component, and being able to follow up using probes and questions as needed yield rich data that would likely not be obtained if other methods were used.

The CIT interview begins by obtaining the participant's informed consent and answering any initial questions. The first interview with participants is the most important because it (a) allows the participant to tell his or her story and feel heard and understood, (b) provides the background information against which the CIs and WL items can be understood, (c) elicits the CIT data, and (d) gathers the demo- graphic data that describe the sample. In our study, the first interview took an aver- age of 2.5 hours. It is critical (a) not to rush this interview, (b) to cover all elements in the interview guide, and (c) to ask clarifying or follow-up questions as needed.

One important objective of CIT interviewing is to explore the same content areas at the same level of detail with all participants. In this research project we explored factors that helped or hindered participants' ability to handle change well and factors they thought would have been helpful had they been available. This does not mean asking exactly the same questions in the same sequence. In some cases, eliciting the helping or hindering factors will require little more than asking the interview question and letting the participant tell his or her story. In others it will require more work in the form of probing, following up on previous remarks made by the participant, or asking for clarity, additional details, or examples.

In our experience, conducting CIT and other qualitative research interviews following different methodologies using basic empathy along with other active listening skills and being curious while also being respectful greatly facilitates the interview process. Whenever possible, it is desirable to ask follow-up ques- tions during the first interview regarding points made by the participant that are incomplete or unclear, although follow-up questions can be asked during the second interview if necessary. It is not necessary to keep a record of every prob- ing question or follow-up question used in each interview. The information that is elicited is of primary interest; the way it is elicited is handled by an interview fidelity check discussed below. Flanagan (1954) stated that participant interviews should continue until ex- haustiveness or redundancy in the data occurs. This refers to the point at which participants mention no new CIs or WL items and no new categories are needed to describe the incidents. Exhaustiveness is Flanagan's term for the concept of satura- tion as defined by Creswell (2008). Flanagan and Butterfield et al. (2005) discuss exhaustiveness in more detail as a credibility check and it is mentioned again below, but it is important to note here that achieving exhaustiveness determines when a sufficient number of participants have been interviewed. The researcher may choose to continue interviewing participants for other reasons, as was the case in our study, but it is not required by the CIT.

Step 4: Analyzing the Data

A CIT study typically elicits masses of data, and analyzing it is considered the most difficult step involved in conducting a CIT study (Oaklief, 1976; Woolsey, 1986). In this section we describe how to organize the raw data, extract the CIs and WL items, and create the categories that describe them. It presupposes the interview recordings have been transcribed and returned to the researcher along with transcripts from which the researcher can work. Analysis follows the steps prescribed by Flanagan (1954) and Butterfield et al. (2005), namely:

1. Determining the frame of reference. This arises from the use that is to be made ofthe data. In our study, we wanted to use the results to create coun- selling interventions for people struggling with change and to inform career development theories.

2. Formulating the categories derived from grouping similar incidents (which requires experience, judgement, and insight).

3. Determining the level of specificity or generality to be used in reporting the data. This is determined by practical considerations such as project budget, number of people available to analyze the data, the extent to which a few general behaviours will be useful compared to several dozen specific behav- iours, and so on.

Step 5: Interpreting the Data and Reporting the Results

Step 5 of a CIT study consists of interpreting the data and reporting the results (Flanagan, 1954). It is in this step of Flanagan's process where we have made ad- ditions to the CIT that, in addition to incorporating the contextual questions at the beginning of the interview and including the WL items, make it the ECIT. These additions to Flanagan's method of interpreting data and reporting the results involve the use of the nine credibility checks. We have found these credibility checks to be especially useful when the study involves the report of perceptions regarding an experience rather than direct observation of a behaviour. A discus- sion of the history and rationale of the nine credibility checks that follow can be found in Butterfield et al. (2005); we focus here on the application of these checks.