Becoming A Reflexive Researcher Using Our Selves In Research

This book raises important questions about whether or not researchers can ever keep their own lives out of their work. In contrast to traditional impersonal approaches to research, reflexive researchers acknowledge the impact of their own history, experiences, beliefs and culture on the processes and outcomes of inquiry. In this thought-provoking book, Kim Etherington uses a range of narratives, including her own research diary and conversations with students and academics, to show the reader how reflexive research works in practice, linking this with underpinning philosophies, methodologies and related ethical issues. Placing her own journey as a researcher alongside others, she suggests that recognising the role of self in research can open up opportunities for creative and personal transformations, and illustrates this idea with poetry, paintings and the use of metaphors and dreams. She explores ways in which reflexivity is used in counselling and psychotherapy practice and research, enabling people to become agents in their own lives. This book encourages researchers to reflect on how self-awareness can enrich relationships with those who assist them in their research. It will inspire and challenge students and academics across a wide range of disciplines to find creative ways of practising and representing their research.

This stimulating and challenging book provides a guide to reflexivity and reflexive practice, explaining its relevance to research in management, organisation studies and the social sciences. Rooted in the latest research, case studies and the authorÕs personal experience, the book builds a new perspective on reflexive practice involving bodily, emotional, rational and relational insights.

Reflexive Narrative is latest addition to the Qualitative Research Methods series. Author Christopher Johns describes this unique qualitative method and its developmental approach to research to enable researchers’ self-realization, however that might be expressed.

Using a socio-legal framework, this book explores the experiences that birth mothers face in state sanctioned adoption proceedings in the UK. Featuring personal, in-depth interviews and conversations with 32 birth mothers, the book highlights perspectives and voices that are seldom the focus in leading discourses of professional practice in this area of law. The book also demands that the statutory rights, support and care of birth mothers are recognised and strengthened. This book delivers a comprehensive insight into many aspects and controversies of legal child adoption, including the development and reform of adoption law over history, giving the reader insight into the deep-rooted political and social tensions around the use of adoption. The uniqueness of birth mothers’ subjective stories of adoption contrasts powerfully with the legal theory providing the reader with an intimate paradigm of adoption. The book includes discussion of obiter dicta and authoritative guidance on adoption practice from the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in Re B (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Appeal) [2013] UKSC 33 and Re B-S (Children) (Adoption: Leave to Oppose) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146. It also considers Court of Appeal’s recent ruling on post adoption contact in Re B (A Child) (Post-Adoption Contact) [2019] EWCA Civ 29, the first case to come before the court since section 9 of the Children and Families Act 2014 amended the Adoption and Children Act 2002, with the new insertion of section 51A and 51B providing for court ordered post adoption contact. This book is ideally suited to undergraduate students, as well as a more multi- disciplinary audience.

This textbook provides a guide to the development of a rigorous and creative research-supported practice for students, practitioners, and researchers in counselling and psychotherapy. With an emphasis on critical thinking and “research mindedness”, it introduces practical research skills and links them to self-awareness and critical reflection. Learning how to creatively and effectively use oneself in the treatment process is an essential component in therapy training and this level of self-awareness has long been a neglected area in research – until now. With examples ranging from private therapeutic practice to psychiatric related research, each chapter combines ‘how-to-do-it’ advice with illustrative real-life examples. The authors outline the use of a broad range of research methods, embracing Arts- as well as RCT-based research, and covering qualitative, quantitative, pluralistic and mixed methods approaches. Whether you are engaging with research for the first time or already developing your own research projects, if you are a student at diploma level or taking a Postgraduate research course for counsellors, psychotherapists and counselling psychotherapists, this is essential reading for anyone looking for a book that combines self-awareness with analytical and practical skills.

This book examines narrative research from a range of different perspectives. It discusses international and comparative experiences of doing narrative research on learning, paying particular attention to the cultural contexts within which the research is conducted. The ways in which narrative research can address some of the methodological and epistemological issues faced in conducting insightful and systematic research across cultures are also included. The book’s approach is essentially an integrated one, exploring narrative as methodology in both theoretical and practical terms. It also emphasises the ethical issues that need to be considered by researchers engaged in this form of enquiry, particularly where cultural and religious contexts have a significant impact on research. The first section of the book considers different perspectives on narrative as methodology, including its value in particular cultural contexts. The second section provides readers with international and comparative perspectives on the practical application of narrative methodology in a wide range of arenas worldwide. This combination of methodological issues with practical examples provides opportunities to examine how narrative as a methodology is applied in a range of ‘real world’ situations. This original and imaginative volume bridges the professional and intellectual cultures and traditions of comparative and international education with those of counselling to show the rich benefits of such cross-fertilisation. It will be of interest to researchers in education and across the social sciences as well as those involved in teaching research methodology and those concerned with the complex ethical issues inherent in cross-cultural research.

From leading researcher and bestselling author, John McLeod, this substantially rewritten and restructured third edition is the most accessible and comprehensive ′how to′ guide on conducting a successful research project in counselling and psychotherapy. Taking you step-by-step through the research process, this new edition includes: A list of 9 basic principles for doing meaningful and practically useful research Chapters on basic research skills: developing a research question, critically evaluating research studies, compiling a research proposal, using qualitative and quantitative methods, and fulfilling the requirements of ethics committees Chapters on 5 main types of research product that can be accomplished by novice researchers: qualitative interview studies, systematic case studies, practice-based outcome research, autoethnographic inquiry, and publishable literature reviews Guidance on how to get your work published. Supported by a companion website offering relevant journal articles, sample ethical consent forms, links to open access research tools and more, this is an indispensable resource for any counselling trainee or practitioner learning about the research process for the first time. John McLeod is Emeritus Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay Dundee.

Social life is in a constant process of change, and sociology can never stand still. As a result, sociology today is a theoretically diverse enterprise, covering a huge range of subjects and drawing on a broad array of research methods. Central to this endeavour is the use of core concepts and ideas which allow sociologists to make sense of societies, though our understanding of these concepts necessarily evolves and changes. This clear and jargon-free book introduces a careful selection of essential concepts that have helped to shape sociology and others that continue to do so. Going beyond brief, dictionary-style definitions, Anthony Giddens and Philip W. Sutton provide an extended discussion of each concept which sets it in historical and theoretical context, explores its main meanings in use, introduces relevant criticisms, and points readers to its ongoing development in contemporary research and theorizing. Organized in ten thematic sections, the book offers a portrait of sociology through its essential concepts, ranging from capitalism, identity and deviance to globalization, the environment and intersectionality. It will be essential reading for all those new to sociology as well as anyone seeking a reliable route map for a rapidly changing world.

A practical and easy-to-understand introduction to applied psychology In the newly revised second edition of Applied Psychology, distinguished psychologist and author Graham C. Davey delivers an accessible introduction to the main areas of applied psychology from the perspectives of practitioners and researchers in the United Kingdom, Europe, and other parts of the world. It explains the core psychological knowledge and research that underpins the most commonly employed areas of applied psychology. This latest edition adds six brand-new chapters that cover emerging topics in applied psychology, as well as a chapter on teaching psychology, and extensive revisions to the individual clinical psychology chapters. The book is accompanied by a resource website that offers a wide range of teaching and learning features, including a test bank, instructor slides, and a collection of professional and training chapters. Readers will also find: Thorough introductions to clinical, health, forensic, and educational psychology Comprehensive explorations of occupational, sport, and counselling psychology Practical discussions of coaching psychology, including the application of psychological theory during coaching Fulsome treatments of emerging topics in applied psychology, including environmental, consumer, and community psychology Perfect for Level 1 introductory psychology students, Applied Psychology will also benefit Level 2 and 3 students seeking core theoretical and professional information highly relevant to their future practice.

What is critical health psychology? How is it changing the way we think about topics like ageing, the community and gender? What can it tell us about our understanding of health and illness? The second edition of this highly regarded text has been thoroughly updated to take account of the changes in the field over the last decade. It includes new chapters on ageing and health, critical disability studies and critical anthropology, and it features contributions from world leading researchers. Examining the debates and disputes that lie at the heart of health psychology, this new edition offers a refreshing critical perspective. It is invaluable reading for students of health psychology, critical psychology and community psychology.