Choice of Methodology
I embarked on the process with no initial research assumption and no specific plan for methodology. In the first modules taught by Derby University staff, we were encouraged to form a cohort of researchers, so that we could collaborate and reflect upon each other's work. I was therefore further motivated to collaborate with Anat on my research, who was also a psychotherapist and co-student working under the same supervisor
We worked conscientiously according to Grounded Theory and Action Research principles. Over nine years, we collected the knowledge attained from our case studies, critical reflective discussions, academic reading and insights, without having a predefined theory or presumption.
We understood that our process of peer review was the way to ensure the quality of care for our patients, and constantly reflect upon and improve our practice. Later in the research process, we identified that we had worked within an apprenticeship framework for the training of professional practice. The knowledge extracted from the apprenticeship site comprised an authentic process of transformation of practice into praxis. This research framework elevated the value of our understandings. When one practitioner investigates his practice alone, the understandings he will achieve are a narrative of his personal outlook and will be retrospectively reviewed by peers before and after publishing. In the collaborative apprenticeship research framework, the teacher is transferring his professional knowledge to the apprentice, and examining his knowledge through the reflection of the apprentice. The teacher elevates the apprentice to the level of his colleague or peer, by relating to the apprentice's feedback in the same way as he relates his opinion. We understood that this procedure of peer review during the research process enriches the quality of the investigation and the magnitude of the outcomes. Composing written texts describing this process and its outcomes would enable the innovative, practical professional knowledge to be communicated to any other professionals in our field. The sequence of the research process and our professional development during it, lead us to adopt autoethnography as part of our methodology.