Dr Claire Largan, MA, PhD, is an Independent Research Consultant specialising in education policy and practice. Claire's career embraces UK and international contexts with its basis firmly within the realm of education, learning, teaching and research. Formerly a lecturer in education at University College Birmingham, Claire is now a successful research consultant working within the field of education policy and practice. She began her career as an early years and primary school teacher before gaining significant international experience teaching overseas in international schools in Dubai and Taiwan and teaching on English programmes offered by the British Council in Dubai. As an experienced lecturer, she has developed, designed and worked on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and been an external examiner for well-known UK institutions. With over ten years' experience of teaching research methods at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, Claire has supported many students both in UK and international contexts, specialising in working with students undertaking secondary research projects. Her own specialised research expertise lies in the use of visual methods of data collection and she was awarded her PhD by the University of Birmingham in 2016 when she also received a Postgraduate Diploma in Research in Education. Underpinning her rationale for co-writing this book is her substantial experience of working with learners from various levels of educational experience and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Her rationale to co-write this research book was a desire to demystify secondary research processes and practice and to do this in an academic, informative, accessible and student-focused way and, specifically, one that draws upon visual approaches to communication. Dr Theresa M. Morris, B.Sc., MA, Ph.D. is Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning Enhancement at University College Birmingham. Theresa's teaching career has encompassed secondary school, sixth form colleges and further and higher education institutions. Theresa is currently an Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning Enhancement at University College Birmingham. Since 2003, she has designed, delivered and managed both degree and postgraduate degree level programmes in teaching and learning. This has culminated in leading the UCB Post Graduate teacher-training programme in vocational studies. Theresa is the UCB lead teacher on undergraduate and postgraduate research modules delivered on UCB programmes across the world. Theresa's teaching specialisms include research design, methods and data analysis. Teaching a wide variety of national and international students, she also supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations from across a range of varied vocational disciplines. Theresa has always maintained a professional and personal interest in research. The University of Birmingham's School of Education awarded Theresa her Ph.D. in 2010. As well as having considerable national and international external examining and educational advisory experience, in 2014, Theresa was awarded the status of Senior Fellow from Advanced HE (previously the Higher Educational Academy) in recognition of her commitment to enhancing the student learning experience. Theresa's extensive andragogical and educational quality assurance experiences have made clear to her the need for research textbooks to be written in a clear, accessible and user-friendly manner. She passionately believes that demystifying research is not 'dumbing it down', but empowering wider access.
