Dissecting Bioethics, edited by Tuija Takala and Matti Hayry, welcomes contributions on the conceptual and theoretical dimensions of bioethics. The department is dedicated to the idea that words defined by bioethicists and others should not be allowed to imprison people’s actual concerns, emotions, and thoughts. Papers that expose the many meanings of a concept, describe the different readings of a moral doctrine, or provide an alternative angle to seemingly self-evident issues are particularly appreciated. To submit a paper or to discuss a suitable topic, contact Tuija Takala at tuija.takala@helsinki.fi.

‘Practice what you preach’ is a phrase occasionally used to refer to those not acting as they want others to act. There are countless opportunities in professional work and daily life to bring such criticism upon ourselves. While the subject is broad, this study focuses on the application of this idea in research practice, and more specifically in design research. One point of departure is the question: ‘how should we practice research if its results are products just like other products?’ The Principle of Reflexive Practice (PRP) states that considering the outcome of design research or research itself as a product, many design principles, tools, methods or knowledge are applicable to design research.

A corollary of the principle is that in order to succeed in contemporary research environments, design researchers would gain significant benefit such as improving the success rate of their research projects, if they exercise design methods and tools in designing their research. By exercising these methods, researchers would gain quick and rich feedback about the methods they develop; they would become aware of issues that require users’ perspective that could not be possible without their own practical use.

The PRP makes participants in design research aware of the reflexive opportunity in studying design that could be mobilized to advancing their practice and making their research results more effective. Notwithstanding, adopting the PRP is not easy; therefore, it is presented as a challenge to design research. Four examples of using the PRP as a guiding principle in research are presented to demonstrate its importance and benefits.

In this paper we attempt to explore the meaning, understanding, usefulness and reality of multidisciplinary research in primary care and provide examples. We debate the issues around roles of people in multidisciplinary research, the value of such research and its application to patient care. We also discuss the perceived threats and opportunities to multidisciplinary research, possible reasons for such perceptions, funding, and research governance, education and training issues. We then go on to consider the emerging relationship between primary care organizations (PCOs) and primary care research teams. We specifically address the activities of research general practices and their implications in terms of contributing to multidisciplinary research and training. We question the traditional model of academic research; raise awareness and need for grassroots primary care research and the importance of capacity building through a multidisciplinary model. We have tried to suggest examples and models of multidisciplinary research that can be seamless, include a range of practices and health professionals, and performs research that is contextual, pragmatic and directly beneficial to patients. We feel that for a successful multidisciplinary research workforce in primary care to become a reality, several key areas need to be addressed. Perhaps the most important of these may involve a conceptual change in thinking by all concerned in that we believe that research in primary care should become an integral part of routine primary care in the same way as health professionals routinely see patients or conduct audits. This could, however, only happen if there is commitment, support and a vision for the future of primary care research from decision makers. Local research networks and PCOs need to work closely together in identifying, nurturing and maintaining multidisciplinary research interest.