A book that is totally innovative as it builds the researcher's skill base and confidence

Just commencing my taught Doctorate programme at the University of Chester, UK with fantastic lecturers in the Social Sciences faculty - and this book is going to be a lifesaver! As well as solid content, beautifully presented and most important of all, structured in the most incredibly helpful way, the whole book is also backed up by a highly generous website, full of templates and resources. The main direction of the content is one of gaining skills: basic skills, essential skills, and then method and methodology skills. The text is rich in structured tables, diagrams, checklists, and easy-to-follow steps, giving a sense of potent support and helpful hand-holding as one finds one's way. Each chapter starts with a clear chapter aim, followed by a crystal clear ladder of steps that make up the chapter contents. The chapter ends with a set of reflective questions and activities to build your researcher skill base. This book feels so different from any predecessors on a similar topic of researching in the counselling or therapy context - and I get a sense that it is going to be a vital resource. The appendix is worth the price of the whole book, offering an essential range of templates to support the research endeavour - with headings and sub-headings to help construct essays, reviews, ethics board applications etc. Within this volume, there is genuine, immediately relevant and applicable help for every stage of the research journey. I suspect it is going to be my best friend over the next four years.

Doctorate student, Andy Williams