ABSTRACT
The introduction to this book provides an overview of the editors’ original ideas for development of the book and how their work within the context of doctoral education in UK higher education has driven their motivation to explore the nature of knowledge further. The relevance of applied epistemology in practice is outlined in relation to how students might best be educated in understanding what is often perceived as a complex and “hard to reach” disciplinary element of doctoral learning. The clear delineation of research that is question-led, as opposed to methods-driven, is articulated, alongside an overview of how the editors propose the text as a new lens of critical understanding and inquiry. The introduction frames how, in the context of empirical sciences, postmodernism has led to the framing of research design and methodology within processes of systematisation and logic, which often characterise modern academic disciplines. The introduction concludes with a short insight into the editors’ work with postgraduate students and how the opportunities of working in this context have inspired and driven their motivation to complete the text.
