We draw on a case study evaluation of two networked cohorts of practitioner researchers in a children's services national social work agency in Scotland, one of the four home nations of the UK. We value the contribution of previous reflections on whether practitioner research has or ought to have special methods and on the particular evidence or knowledge yielded by practitioner research projects. However, we are concerned to elucidate the meaning of practitioner research as it is undertaken by social work professionals, through an exploration of how social workers navigate the deceptive waters of their research process and experience. Drawing on an interactionist analysis of diverse data from these two cohorts, we aim to depict how engaging in such practices shapes and is shaped by the career of their professional minds and identities.