Action Research
Action research in business involves a systematic approach to problem-solving and decision-making. It emphasizes collaboration between researchers and practitioners to identify and address organizational challenges. This iterative process allows for the development and implementation of practical solutions while generating valuable insights for continuous improvement.
8 Key excerpts on "Action Research"
eBook - ePub- David E Gray(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
...This sponsor should, preferably, be a senior manager and someone respected and well ‘networked’ within the organization. An alternative approach is external Action Research, where the researcher may be independent of the professional context, but work within it and alongside professional practitioners (for example, business leaders, managers, trainers or HR professionals) to achieve change. Hence, Action Research is a process of collaboration for bringing about change. The exact nature of this collaboration, however, may be problematic. Activity 13.1 Examine each of the following statements, only two of which are typical of Action Research statements. Which are they? What is happening here? How can I improve the quality of my professional practice? How can this research method be improved? What implications does my research have for all practitioners in my profession? Suggested answers are provided at the end of the chapter. Read: Action science example Another approach to Action Research is action science, which attempts to integrate practical problem solving with theory-building and change. Friedman (2001) acknowledges that it is difficult to locate a single, comprehensive definition of action science, but suggests that it involves a form of social practice which integrates both the production and use of knowledge in order to promote learning with and among individuals and systems. The objective of action science is to help practitioners to ‘discover the tacit choices they have made about their perceptions of reality, about their goals and about their strategies for achieving them’ (Friedman, 2001: 160). To achieve this, communities of practice are created in which both practitioners and researchers make explicit their interpretations, which can then be made subject to rigorous testing for their validity. Gummesson (2000) divides action science into societal action science and management action science...
eBook - ePub- Maree K(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Van Schaik Publishers(Publisher)
...They are aimed at developing solutions to practical problems, which then in turn 157 inform practice (Creswell, 2005; Ho, 2013). Action Research therefore centres on the interaction between research methodology and solving localised, practical problems. According to the continued cycle of Action Research, researchers relying on this design will study challenges, reflect on problems, and collect and analyse data in order to implement practical changes based on their findings (Creswell, 2005; Lawson et al., 2015). The Action Research process is inherently transformative and developmental, and the practice-research interaction is aimed at empowerment, transformation and emancipation of participants in the research process (Creswell, 2005; Glassman, Erdem & Bartholomew, 2012). Therefore Action Research is often chosen as a strategy for inquiry when self-development and self-determination are constrained (Stringer, 1999). Greenwood and Levin (2000: 94) formulate the change focus of Action Research as follows: “For Action Researchers, social inquiry aims to generate knowledge and action in support of liberating social change.” 7.2.1.2 Action Research is a cyclical process Action Research comprises an interactive cycle of planning, implementing and reflecting. It consists of an interactive cycle between practical challenges, the formulation of research questions and reporting research findings in a manner that may inform further practice (Seale, 2000). The cycle can be repeated multiple times (Ado, 2013; Lawson et al., 2015), at different levels of complexity. 7.2.1.3 Action Research has a participatory character Action Research recognises the interconnectedness of human interaction and the power of working together towards shared goals (Glassman et al., 2012). In essence, Action Research is signified by a partnership between researcher(s) on the one hand and participants/stakeholders on the other...
eBook - ePubStudying Your Own School
An Educator's Guide to Practitioner Action Research
- Gary Anderson, Kathryn G. Herr, Ann S. Nihlen(Authors)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- Corwin(Publisher)
...However, the term Action Research seems to have held up among educators, and placing school practitioners at the center of the enterprise can sometimes obscure the centrality of action as well as displace other participants, such as students, parents, and community members. Therefore, we have used practitioner Action Research in the book title, although in the text of this edition we tend to shorten it to Action Research for the sake of brevity. Although the plethora of terms used to describe this research also reflects wide disagreement on many key issues, we provide below a working definition of practitioner Action Research, as well as a few of our working assumptions, that are used throughout the book. Action Research is a living, growing movement that is in the process of evolving; it is this evolution that we describe in subsequent chapters. DEFINING Action Research In attempting to provide a working definition of practitioner Action Research, we want to make it clear that every point in the following definition is hotly debated in the burgeoning literature on Action Research. Thus, we attempt to provide a snapshot of how the definition is taking shape. In the field of education, the term Action Research connotes “insider” research done by practitioners using their own site (class-room, institution, school district, community) as the focus of their study. It is a reflective process but is different from isolated, spontaneous reflection in that it is deliberately and systematically undertaken and generally requires that some form of evidence be presented to support assertions. What constitutes “evidence” or, in more traditional terms, “data,” is still being debated. This is particularly the case in self-study forms of Action Research that rely to a greater extent on experience and narrative. As mentioned above, Action Research is oriented to some action or cycles of actions that practitioners wish to take to address a particular situation...
eBook - ePubResearching Learning in Higher Education
An Introduction to Contemporary Methods and Approaches
- Glynis Cousin(Author)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...9 Action Research Appeal Action Research offers a means by which research and development (be it institution wide or at the level of local practice) can be combined within a framework of public, reflective inquiry. It offers profitable ways in which groups of academics (or academics and students) can investigate together issues that might be puzzling, troubling and/or sensitive to them through a solution-oriented approach. It can also enable individuals to research their own practice. Purpose Scale There is a common misconception that Action Research is only suitable for small scale, practice-based research. This is not the case since Action Research can be used to explore anything from assessment practices on a single course through to a change management project in a whole institution or across a cluster of institutions. Different Models There are a number of models of Action Research. Given that Action Research is used across many subject areas, particularly those of business studies, community development, education and health, this is hardly surprising. Roughly speaking, at one end, Action Research, particularly in the UK field of schooling research, is associated with the “teacher-as-researcher” movement (Stenhouse, 1975; Elliot, 1991; McNiff, 1994). This orientation can be understood as extending the principles of reflective practice into systematic, public inquiry. In the middle there are versions which use Action Research to discover “what works” (Zuber-Skerrit (1996) calls this technical Action Research) and, at the other end, there are models of emancipatory Action Research (Carr and Kemmis, 1983; Reason and Bradbury, 2001) which aspire to change the world for a more equal and inclusive one. This latter model is often termed PAR, (participative Action Research) or radical Action Research...
eBook - ePub- Una M Collins, Jean McNiff, Una M Collins, Jean McNiff(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...To some extent Úna Collins and I have discussed the characteristics of Action Research in Chapter 1. Here, I would like to point to some major elements in Action Research, and show how it meets the challenge of the commitment to care. Action Research above all is a methodology that requires practitioners to accept the responsibility of offering a public account of their own educational journey, of how they grew in understanding. This is, however, not a solitary journey, since no meaningful research in the human sciences can be conducted by one person separate from others. Action Researchers acknowledge that they are undertaking their research with the aim of improving the quality of life for themselves and others, and that their research will inevitably involve others in a variety of ways: as participants in the research, as validators of its findings, as new researchers who will carry the research forward, and so on. This aspect is neglected in the old-mind paradigms I discussed above, where researchers adopt a neutral stand to doing research. Neutrality is not a feature of Action Research. Action Researchers make a personal decision not to leave an unsatisfactory situation as it is, but to work towards improvement. The focus of Action Research is the self, the living ‘I’, to use Whitehead’s terms (Whitehead 1989; 1993). It deals with real-world work undertaken by real people in real situations, such as you and I and the practitioners whose stories are told in this book. The aim of the research is to improve the social situation of others. This raises some key issues about the ethics involved in the methodology of Action Research, and about the personal responsibility of the practitioner-researcher, and how far this responsibility extends. No one person can accept the responsibility for the thoughts and actions of another...
- Carol Munn-Giddings, Richard Winter(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Its purpose is to increase the autonomy of citizens, to enable them to re-describe their experience in terms which they themselves have helped to create, and to re-create that experience in the form of a collectively desired state of affairs. For academic social science such values normally remain a set of criteria for evaluating the purpose and the impact of an inquiry. Action Research, however, seeks also to embody these values in its processes, i.e. in the attempt (never fully successful, of course) to carry out inquiry through suspending hierarchical role relationships in favour of a free and collaborative interchange of critical analysis among all interested parties. Conclusion The analysis presented here has attempted to reply to the criticism that Action Research is not ‘proper research’, that Action Research simply lacks the formal characteristics that give other types of research their theoretical authority. In reply to such criticisms, it is important to compare Action Research not with the naive claims of positivism but with a sophisticated account of the philosophical basis of social inquiry, one which recognises, on the one hand, its fallibility and inconclusiveness and, at the same time, its responsibility to contribute to human well-being in a real world of practical action. When such a comparison is undertaken, the various characteristics of Action Research emerge as having a clear theoretical basis. Action Research (with its narratives of reflexive critical evaluation of current practices and theories, describing collaborative negotiations among stakeholders with differing interests in order to agree and implement practical changes) may not be the only way of contributing to the progress of human knowledge and certainly not the easiest. But, speaking philosophically as well as practically, it has much to recommend it...
eBook - ePubAction Research for Business, Nonprofit, and Public Administration
A Tool for Complex Times
- E. Alana James, Tracesea H. Slater, Alan J. Bucknam(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Chapter 1. Introducing the Three Steps of Action Research: A Tool for Complex Times and Situations Action Research (AR) and its counterpart, participatory Action Research (PAR), are powerful tools for people in business, nonprofits, and public administration who seek to create change in complex situations for the sake of sustainable improvement. In this chapter, we introduce the process, discuss why it is important, and explain how you might use it and what strategies you can employ to ensure your success. We write this book making a few assumptions about you, our reader: Probably you are or have recently been in graduate school. You are an early to midcareer professional in business, nonprofit, or public administration. You are more than likely taking a class that requires this book, but it may be that you saw it on the bookshelf or while surfing a bookseller’s website and decided to purchase it. You may be intending to work as a lone researcher (with support from the outside such as faculty and other students) or with a team (PAR) as you complete the AR process, and throughout, we will discuss both options. I believe quite simply that the small company of the future will be as much a research organization as it is a manufacturing company. —Edwin Herbert Land Because AR and PAR solve complex problems and complexity describes much of our world, it makes sense that we have seen a rise in its use. Similar in many ways to strategic planning, this process should seem familiar, yet many planning sessions often do not end with solid results measured over time. When we add the rigor of research, it becomes powerful...
eBook - ePubBecoming a Teacher through Action Research
Process, Context, and Self-Study
- Donna Kalmbach Phillips, Kevin Carr(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...C HAPTER 4 A CTION R ESEARCH D ESIGN Chapter 4 guides you through the formal process of writing an Action Research design. There are (at least) three ways to approach this chapter: Now that you have determined the kind of research you want to do (design research, curriculum analysis, ethnography, or self-study) and refined your critical question, you are ready to apply principles of data collection as you develop your research design. Alternatively, you may find it useful to merely skim this chapter at this point and continue with Chapter 5 Ongoing Data Analysis and Chapter 6 Final Data Interpretation to gain a better picture of the whole Action Research journey. After doing so, you could return to this chapter and complete the Action Research design. Or you might work through this chapter, completing most of the design, and continue reading the next chapters and revising your draft Action Research design as you proceed. Whatever route you choose, this chapter will provide the scaffold for you to plan the implementation of your Action Research project. Introduction to Action Research Design We begin this section on Action Research design with a true story to emphasize that research context includes you —you are not outside of the school and community where you conduct Action Research. You are the “participant observer” (Atkinson & Hammersley, 1994; Patton, 2002); you are the “human instrument” (Lincoln & Guba, 2003). As an active participant in the research study, your own paradigm and resulting attitudes for seeing and doing in the classroom influence the outcome of the study; furthermore, you become part of the population to be “analyzed” in the study (McCotter, 2001; Weiler, 1988). The story is of one mentor-teacher, Ms. Buckman, and two student teachers, Liz and Jodi. The first student teacher was placed with Ms. Buckman the first half the year; the student teachers were to trade placements the last half of the year...
