This article argues that induction into research techniques as a means of exploring practical challenges can lead to knowledge production and ownership. Its explicit aim is to introduce student teachers to a range of information sources, including a variety of research tools, with which they engage critically to gain confidence in making well-informed though flexible and cautious professional decisions. It offers examples of the use of small-scale research projects as a valid means of ‘discovery learning’ in pre-service teacher education. The authors recognise that engagement in research remains a minority activity for practising teachers. However, participants' writings show that it is possible as a novice researcher to understand the potential and pitfalls of research, to generate new knowledge and to undergo deep personal learning through designing and implementing a small-scale project.