This paper reports on nine research projects conducted by 12 adult literacy practitioners with Literacy South in North Carolina in 1993. The focus of the project was to engage literacy practitioners in self-directed research that generated staff training and development. This report is a chronological account of the research projects with a commentary attached, in seven chapters. The seven chapters are based upon the stages of a research process: deciding who would be involved in the research at the site; choosing a topic for the research and formulating a research question; deciding how the research would be conducted; collecting the data; analyzing the data; writing a report; and reporting and reflecting on the findings. A detailed account of what happened forms the core of each chapter, with quotations from field notes, recordings made at the time, and other documents where available. Key events and incidents are highlighted. A commentary accompanies each account, based on field notes, research documents, interviews, and transcripts. The activity at both project sites is reported separately in each chapter. Reflections on the work, issues arising, and outcomes are contained in two chapters in the final section of the report. Recommendations from the project include the following: research should include time reflecting with practitioners about their key issues; reference tools should be provided; participants should be asked to formulate plans and make commitments to the research; participants should keep portfolios to document their work; and regular group meetings should held. Four appendixes contain practitioner research outcomes at the two sites, a project reading list, and a list of projects that were tape recorded. (KC)