ABSTRACT
The prospect of engaging in research may seem daunting if one has in mind largescale survey research, experiments (or ‘quasi-experiments’), or large-scale clinical studies. It is, however, possible and not so excessively demanding on a practitioner’s time to carry out small-scale pieces of research which focus on particular issues. Many of the skills needed for engaging in research are not so different from clinical skills. Practitioners after all become skilful in observing groups and individuals in groups, in noting their own behaviour and its consequences, in keeping observations separate from inferences, and so on. There is not a big gap between reflecting on own experience, by means suggested in Chapter 18, and taking the further step of planning and conducting small-scale research. One does, however, need to take care to be systematic and consistent.
