Synopses & Reviews
In trying to juggle the various priorities of doctoral study, many individuals struggle. From gathering data, preparing papers and organising projects, to the less obvious difficulties of time management and personal development, doctoral researchers are heavily tasked. In addition to this, those undertaking practitioner research face the complication of negotiating a less traditional research setting.
As a guide to this ongoing, often neglected aspect of doctoral research, the authors of this innovative book explore in detail the challenges faced by doctoral researchers conducting practitioner research today. They show that the special nature of this research and the conditions in which the professional researcher works raise questions about producing new knowledge at work through research. This affects everything: relationships with practice; ethics; the ways that they are taught and supervised; the genre of the thesis; all place practitioners in situations which may not methodologically align with conventional approaches.
In this book the authors take the opportunity to explore these themes in an holistic and integrated way in order to develop a sense of methodological coherence for the practitioner researcher at doctoral level. In doing so, the authors argue for what is possible, suggesting that universities should critically examine practitioner doctorates to accommodate new forms of knowledge formation.
As an invaluable guide through doctoral research, this book will be essential reading for both doctoral researchers and supervisors alike, as well as practitioner researchers working in professional settings more generally and those engaging in policy debates about doctoral research.
Synopsis
This book explores the idea that the critical position that doctoral students must achieve in terms of both their research and the research setting is, at best, extremely difficult and, at worst, may be unachievable for practitioners conducting a insider researcha (TM). The authors suggest that universities need to examine current research methodologies on practitioner doctorates with a view to creating new methodologies to accommodate new forms of knowledge construction.
The authors argue that comparisons between traditional PhDs and professional doctorates not only neglect the diversity of models of practitioner research at doctoral level, but also that a paradigm shift has occurred and that the construction of knowledge in the social sciences is not limited to the type of doctoral programme through which it is engendered.
Recent research indicates that key elements including supervision, ethical issues, relationships with colleagues, loyalty, duty and integrity place the practitioner in a situation which may not methodologically align with conventional approaches. In this book the authors take the opportunity to explore these themes in an holistic and integrated way in order to develop a sense of methodological coherence for the practitioner researcher at doctoral level.
This book will be essential reading for doctoral students and their supervisors, practitioner researchers working in professional settings more generally and those engaging with policy debates about doctoral research.