Researching, studying or jumping through hoops? Reflections on a PhD

Exploring research supervision through Peshkin’s I’s: the yellow brick road

“…In the reports by Jack (1999) and Trotter (2003) the first‐person student voice is heard, and similarly the autoethnographic approach of Sambrook et al. (2005, 2006a, 2006b) and the narrative approach of Chapman and Sork (2001) are examples of studies that allow a vehicle for the student’s voice alongside those of their supervisors.…”

“…I share the approach that I used to undertake a ‘subjectivity audit’, which involved analysing written entries in a reflexive journal. Although the practice of keeping a reflexive journal is not new (Koch & Harrington 1998, Smith 1999, Trotter 2003, Wolf 2003, Koch 2006), the approach I describe in this paper provides a unique means of using journal entries so that they become a rich source of data. Influenced by the work of Peshkin (1988), I expand on my recent interpretation of his work in qualitative health research (Bradbury‐Jones 2007).…”

New Variant PhD: The changing nature of the doctorate in the UK

“…Collinson (1998) has noted how in Britain in recent years the doctorate has been reconceptualised as a training period for future researchers, rather than a piece of work that changes the course of human knowledge. Based on personal experience, Pole (2000) views the PhD student as a blend of technician and scholar, and Trotter (2003) describes her PhD in social work as a mixture of ''researching, studying or jumping through hoops''.…”

Desperately seeking data: methodological complications in researching ‘hard to find’ young people

“…Research with young people, particularly those deemed to be ‘minors’, poses a range of issues around consent, understanding, confidentiality and validity (Trotter, 2003). Informed consent, and the processes by which it is obtained, is a complex issue (David, Edwards & Alldred, 2001).…”