The aim of this book is to support, inform and guide students (and by implication their supervisors) through a doctoral programme. The book is intended for students working towards either a "taught" doctorate (such as an EdD) or a course of study leading to a PhD. The authors recognize that doctoral programmes have changed and these changes are described and discussed in Chapter 1. The traditional model of a doctorate based on the concept of three years of independent (but supervised) full-time research is no longer the norm. Thus in writing the book the authors had in mind not simply those students who may wish to become professional researchers in education, the social sciences or related fields, but also, and perhaps most especially, those who aspire to being a "researching professional": a professional, probably already established in a career, who wishes to reflect upon, and research into, her or his own practice and/or the political, social and theoretical contexts in which it is located. Being aware that students who are also working in demanding jobs have to perform complex juggling acts in order to balance the demands of work, study and other aspects of their lives, each chapter of the book contains cameos of students who have struggled to maintain this fine balance -- and survived to tell the tale. The book is presented in 5 parts. Part 1: "Embarking on a Doctorate" includes the following: (1) Chapter 1: What is a Doctorate and Why do People do Them; (2) Chapter 2: How Did I Get Here? An Auto/biographical Approach; (3) Cameo 1: "The Long and Winding Road that Led Me to an EdD Course" (Jean Clarkson); (4) Cameo 1: "How Our Experiences Influence the Research Topics We Choose" (Alan Hearsum); (5) Chapter 3: Learning on the Doctoral Journey; and (6) Cameo: "Spiralling into Control: a Research Journey" (Tracy Marshall). Part 2: "Conceptualising and Focusing the Study" includes: (7) Chapter 4: Framing the Research; (8) Cameo: "How I Theorized My Thesis -- My Story (Carolyn Mason); (9) Chapter 5: Reviewing the Literature; (10) Cameo: "Reviewing the Literature" (John O'Neill). Part 3: "Thinking About Methodologies" contains the following sections: (11) Chapter 6: Doing Research: Reflecting on Methods, Methodology and Ethics; and (12) Cameo: "Methodology and Methods" (Bernard Longden); (13) Chapter 7: Approaching Research as Lived Experience; and (14) Cameo: "Queer Matters in Methodology" (Mark Vicars). Part 4: "Writing the Thesis" includes: (15) Chapter 8: Writing and the Writing Process in a Doctoral Programme; (16) Cameo: "Me and My Writing process" (Kathryn Roberts); (17) Chapter 9: Production Values in the Doctoral Thesis; and (18) Cameo: "Writing the Thesis -- a Personal Account from which It Might Be Hard to Generalize Much" (Paul Machon). Part 5: "Presenting and Sharing Research" includes: (19) Chapter 10: Presenting Your Work at the Viva; (20) Cameo "Surviving the Viva" (Maxine Burton); (21) Chapter 11: Whatever Next? Spreading the Word and Becoming Part of the Research Community; and (22) Cameo: "The doctoral experience -- bearing fruit (Marion Jones). Following the chapters are: Sections on Further Reading; Useful Organisations and Websites; References: and an Index are also included. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)