ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author argues that research based on the skills of the practitioner can supplement conventional research methods as a result of incorporating personal experience into the research process and questioning premises and assumptions, including his/her own. They rely on pre-designed methodological systems and may be undertaken by practitioners who have become academics or by pure academics. The author suggests that academic research can become too constraining when it is not sufficiently fructified by practitioner research, and that practitioner research can become too chaotic and personalized when it is not sufficiently fructified by academic research. The researcher decides on a research topic or question on the basis of having conducted a literature review, then designs the methodology, and only engages in the fieldwork once this has been completed. The author also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
