Action Research in Teaching and Learning: A practical guide to conducting pedagogical research in universities The book is organised into two sections: the theoretical and the practical, either of which can be read independently, so for those of you who are keen to get on with the practical aspects of doing an action research study, a good starting point is Chapter 5.

If you already have a fair amount of experience with action research but would like some theoretical underpinnings, you may prefer to start with Chapter 1. In this first section, which includes Chapters 1 to 4, I make a case for pedagogical action research in higher education where there is still an uncomfortable divide between research and teaching, and where the former is more highly rewarded.

I have spent some time on this as I have found that in the highly competitive academic research world, you need to be able to justify and defend any research activity which might not be recognised as ‘mainstream’. In keeping with the overall aim of this being a practical book, I have incorporated some reflective questions in each of these chapters.