Practitioner Research: A Collection of Articles

This month’s theme is: “Be Expansive: Research beyond Academia.” These three articles about practitioner research are open access for the month of April 2022. Make sure to use the link in the title! Take a look, and download them this month!

Irvine, N., & Carmichael, P. (2009). Threshold concepts: A point of focus for practitioner research. Active Learning in Higher Education, 10(2), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787409104785

Abstract. Participants with teaching and research experience across eight disciplinary areas were introduced to the idea of `threshold concepts' and were then invited to identify potential threshold concepts in their own disciplines through small-scale research activities. Participants conceptualized their involvement in different ways: for some it provided a means of initiating changes in practice at faculty, department or course level, while others couched their involvement in terms of professional development or intellectual curiosity. This article describes how three selected disciplines — Sports Science, English Literature and Engineering — carried out enquiries into threshold concepts, and the ways in which they reflected on their participation in interdisciplinary seminars and disciplinary enquiry. These accounts highlight the importance of promoting a culture in which enquiry and reflection are central, while at the same time recognizing the value of appropriate `points of focus' for these activities and the importance of context-specific ideas of `quality' in practitioner research.

Levitan, J., Carr-Chellman, D., & Carr-Chellman, A. (2020). Accidental ethnography: A method for practitioner-based education research. Action Research, 18(3), 336–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750317709078

Abstract. This article presents and discusses Accidental Ethnography (AccE), a methodology for practitioners to examine past experiences and contribute their findings to scholarly discourse. Accidental ethnography is the systematic analysis of prior fieldwork. It utilizes extant data “accidentally” gathered (i.e. the data were not collected as part of a predesigned study) to provide insight into a phenomenon, culture, or way of life. The accidental ethnography method—a nascent method in research literature—was developed to provide a means of in-depth exploration of past practitioner learning experiences beyond personal reflection. This article organizes, advances, and systematizes an accidental ethnography method for practitioner–researchers. We propose here a method that encompasses broader intentionality on the part of the researcher and a potentially unorthodox chronology of steps in the ethnographic research process. For practitioners in education, where much is learned through action and reflection, accidental ethnography offers a methodological approach for rigorous reflective research by front-line practitioners who have traditionally had difficulty finding time to make rigorous contributions to the discipline. This article introduces the methodological approach, elaborates the accidental ethnography research process, situates the method within action research methodology, and provides an example of an accidental ethnography project.

Scully-Russ, E., Lehner, R., & Shuck, B. (2013). A Scholar-Practitioner Case Approach: Implications for Advancing Theory and Research Through Informed Practice. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 15(3), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422313487307

Abstract. Though there is growing interest in the nature of scholarly practice in Human Resource Development (HRD) there is little understanding of how the everyday activities of HRD practitioners are mediated by HRD theories and research. This preface provides the framework for this special issue on HRD scholar-practitioners. Each article in this issue, with the exception of the final article by Lombardozzi, presents a real-world case on how HRD scholar-practitioners used HRD theory and research to navigate an intractable problem in their practice. This issue explores the wide and varying ways in which scholar-practitioners approach their work, how research and theory were both applied and extended in practice, and the implications for HRD theory, research, and practice. HRD scholars, researchers, and practitioners who are members of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), as well managers, educators, and higher education administrators who have a stake in effective organizations may gain insight into the nature of HRD scholarly practice and the role of the HRD scholar-practitioner.

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