This book synthesises a decade of engagement with Sierra Leone, exploring the myriad manifestations of violence in relationships and its negotiation, mediation, and punishment. Employing ethnographic methods, participant observation, multi-perspective interviews and focus group discussions, the study also incorporates ‘love’ and life histories, complemented by primary and secondary sources. Research collaborators played a crucial role in challenging and shaping interpretations. The study emphasises deep ethnography, embodied methodologies, relationship cultivation, respectful collaboration, and a nuanced approach in addressing these sensitive social, political, and legal topics. The chapter introduces pivotal research sites, highlights the significance of ethical considerations, and underscores the transformative impact of sexual violence during the early stages of the researcher’s work and her community’s response. Furthermore, all research participants were fully informed of the research’s objectives and provided oral consent. To ensure anonymity, identifying details of some research collaborators were omitted, pseudonyms used, and details altered to safeguard collaborators.

In this chapter, we deal with practical considerations that need to be taken into account when planning practitioner research. Initial planning for practitioner research requires considerable thought as to the logistics of the proposed undertaking. The process for pre-service teachers is often guided by the requirements of assessment, while in-service educators are less constrained and less often guided by others. We continue the focus on practical considerations by revisiting the research questions, noting the practical considerations that are involved when formulating initial questions and planning a research project. The other important practicalities of research dealt with in this chapter are ethics and ethical approval – essential considerations that are central to any research. Ethical principles and application processes are the focus of the latter part of the chapter.