Our interest in this paper is to explore the potential for particular data gathering tools used in educational research to provide opportunities for the professional development of participants. The particular methods are video stimulated recall (VSR), concept mapping and accompanying Think Aloud Protocols (TAPs). These methods were used in a longitudinal study of ten novice social science teachers as they moved from their final year of teacher preparation to their first year of teaching. As with most educational research the impact of the researcher can never be underestimated. It is not always the case that participants experience positive outcomes of the research process. The findings of this study do suggest that the methodologies used to gather data did have a valuable role in the knowledge growth of these novice teachers. In this sense these methods may have implications as professional development tools.