October 2010:  Pat Drake New Book Published

Dr Pat Drake, Senior Education Lecturer and CIRCLETS member, has had her new book Practitioner Research at Doctoral Level: Developing Coherent Research Methodologies published this month.
Written with Linda Heath, the book recognises the struggle many doctoral students have with juggling the various priorities of doctoral study. From gathering data, preparing papers and organising projects, to the less obvious challenges of time management and personal development, doctoral students are heavily tasked. In addition, 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 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.
These themes are explored in a holistic and integrated way in order to develop a sense of methodological coherence for practitioner research 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 is 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.