Reflections on navigating the PhD journey as a social work practitioner

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Date
2020
Authors
Lotty, Maria
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Sage Publications
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Abstract
Practitioners who undertake PhDs find themselves in a unique research position. They have a dual role of being a researcher, as doctoral candidate and also a practitioner. This paper describes my reflections on the journey of doing a PhD as an experienced social work practitioner. Firstly, I describe my study which designed, developed and evaluated a psychoeducational intervention for foster carers in Ireland. Then, I discuss my reflections on my position in the research and how I theoretically framed my study in a pragmatist approach. I discuss the challenges I experienced as a practitioner and doctoral candidate. I conclude that my position as a practitioner and doctoral candidate was likely to have enhanced my research and the contribution it has made to social work practice.
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Keywords
PhD journey , Doctoral candidate , Practitioner-researcher , Positionality , Reflexivity , Pragmatist approach
Citation
Lotty, M. (2020) 'Reflections on navigating the PhD journey as a social work practitioner', Qualitative Social Work, doi: 10.1177/1473325020921926
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© 2020 the author. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.