What is Action Research

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What is Action Research?

Action research is known by many other names, including participatory research, collaborative

inquiry, emancipatory research, action learning, and contextural action research, but all are

variations on a theme. Put simply, action research is ―learning by doing‖ - a group of people

identify a problem, do something to resolve it, see how successful their efforts were, and if not

satisfied, try again. While this is the essence of the approach, there are other key attributes of

action research that differentiate it from common problem-solving activities that we all engage in

every day.

Action research is a term which refers to a practical way of looking at your own work to check

that it is as you would like it to be. Because action research is done by you, the practitioner, it is

often referred to as practitioner based research; and because it involves you thinking about and

reflecting on your work, it can also be called a form of self-reflective practice.

The idea of self reflection is central. In traditional forms of research – empirical research –

researchers do research on other people. In action research, researchers do research on

themselves. Empirical researchers enquire into other people‘s lives. Action researchers enquire

into their own. Action research is an enquiry conducted by the self into the self. You, a

practitioner, think about your own life and work, and this involves you asking yourself why you

do the things that you do, and why you are the way that you are. When you produce your

research report, it shows how you have carried out a systematic investigation into your own

behaviour, and the reasons for that behaviour. The report shows the process you have gone

through in order to achieve a better understanding of yourself, so that you can continue

developing yourself and your work.

Action research can be described as a family of research methodologies which pursue action (or

change) and research (or understanding) at the same time. In most of its forms it does this by

using a cyclic or spiral process which alternates between action and critical reflection and

in the later cycles, continuously refining methods, data and interpretation in the light of

the understanding developed in the earlier cycles.

Action research is undertaken in a school setting. It is a reflective process that allows for inquiry

and discussion as components of the ―research.‖ Often, action research is a collaborative activity

among colleagues searching for solutions to everyday, real problems experienced in schools, or

looking for ways to improve instruction and increase student achievement. Rather than dealing

with the theoretical, action research allows practitioners to address those concerns that are closest

to them, ones over which they can exhibit some influence and make change. Practitioners are

responsible for making more and more decisions in the operations of schools, and they are being

held publicly accountable for student achievement results. The process of action research assists

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educators in assessing needs, documenting the steps of inquiry, analyzing data, and making

informed decisions that can lead to desired outcomes.

Action research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice

systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research. It is based on the following

assumptions:

Teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for themselves

Teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to examine and assess

their own work and then consider ways of working differently

Teachers and principals help each other by working collaboratively

Working with colleagues helps teachers and principals in their professional development

Although there are many types of research that may be undertaken, action research specifically

refers to a disciplined inquiry done by a teacher with the intent that the research will inform and

change his or her practices in the future. This research is carried out within the context of the

teacher‘s environment—that is, with the students and at the school in which the teacher works—

on questions that deal with educational matters at hand. While people who call for greater

professionalization say that teachers should be constantly researching and

educating themselves about their area of expertise, this is different from the study of more

educational questions that arise from the practice of teaching.

Implicit in the term action research is the idea that teachers will begin a cycle of posing

questions, gathering data, reflection, and deciding on a course of action. When these decisions

begin to change the school environment, a different set of circumstances appears with different

problems posed, which require a new look. Indeed, many action research projects are started

with a particular problem to solve, whose solution leads into other areas of study. While a

teacher may work alone on these studies, it is also common for a number of teachers to

collaborate on a problem, as well as enlist support and guidance from administrators, university

scholars, and others. At times, whole schools may decide to tackle a school-wide study to

address a common issue, or join with others to look at district-wide issues.

Action research is open ended. It does not begin with a fixed hypothesis. It begins with an idea

that you develop. The research process is the developmental process of following through the

idea, seeing how it goes, and continually checking whether it is in line with what you wish to

happen. Seen in this way, action research is a form of self evaluation. It is used widely in

professional contexts such as appraisal, mentoring and self assessment.

A useful way to think about action research is that it is a strategy to help you live in a way that

you feel is a good way. It helps you live out the things you believe in, and it enables you to give

good reasons every step of the way.

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What is NOT action research?

Action research is not what usually comes to mind when we hear the word ―research.‖ Action

research is not a library project where we learn more about a topic that interests us. It is not

problem-solving in the sense of trying to find out what is wrong, but rather a quest for

knowledge about how to improve. Action research is not about doing research on or about

people, or finding all available information on a topic looking for the correct answers. It involves

people working to improve their skills, techniques, and strategies. Action research is not about

learning why we do certain things, but rather how we can do things better. It is about how we can

change our instruction to impact students.

Classroom Action Research

Classroom Action Research is research designed to help a teacher find out what is happening in

his or her classroom, and to use that information to make wise decisions for the future. Methods

can be qualitative or quantitative, descriptive or experimental.

Differences between Action and Formal Research

TOPIC FORMAL RESEARCH ACTION RESEARCH

Training needed by

researcher Extensive On own or withconsultation

Goals of research Knowledge that is

generalizable

Knowledge to apply to the

local situation

Method of

identifying the

problem to be

studied

Review of previous research Problems or goals currently

faced

Procedure for

literature review

Extensive, using primary

sources

More cursory, using

secondary sources

Sampling approach Random or representative

sampling

Students or clients with

whom they work

Research design Rigorous control, long time

frame

Looser procedures, change

during study; quick time

frame; control through

triangulation

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Measurement

procedures Evaluate and pretest measures

Convenient measures or

standardized tests

Data analysis Statistical tests; qualitative

techniques

Focus on practical, not

statistical significance;

present raw data

Application of

results

Emphasis on theoretical

significance

Emphasis on practical

significance

Types of Action Research

Part of the confusion we find when we hear the term ―action research‖ is that there are different

types of action research depending upon the participants involved. A plan of research can

involve a single teacher investigating an issue in his or her classroom, a group of teachers

working on a common problem, or a team of teachers and others focusing on a school- or

district-wide issue.

Individual teacher research usually focuses on a single issue in the classroom. The teacher may

be seeking solutions to problems of classroom management, instructional strategies, use of

materials, or student learning. Teachers may have support of their supervisor or principal, an

instructor for a course they are taking, or parents. The problem is one that the teacher believes is

evident in his or her classroom and one that can be addressed on an individual basis. The

research may then be such that the teacher collects data or may involve looking at student

participation. One of the drawbacks of individual research is that it may not be shared with

others unless the teacher chooses to present findings at a faculty meeting, make a formal

presentation at a conference, or submit written material to a listserv, journal, or newsletter. It is

possible for several teachers to be working concurrently on the same problem with no knowledge

of the work of others.

Collaborative action research may include as few as two teachers or a group of several

teachers and others interested in addressing a classroom or department issue. This issue may

involve one classroom or a common problem shared by many classrooms. These teachers may be

supported by individuals outside of the school, such as a university or community partner.

School-wide research focuses on issues common to all. For example, a school may have a

concern about the lack of parental involvement in activities, and is looking for a way to reach

more parents to involve them in meaningful ways. Or, the school may be looking to address its

organizational and decision-making structures. Teams of staff from the school work together to

narrow the question, gather and analyze the data, and decide on a plan of action. An example of

action research for a school could be to examine their state test scores to identify areas that need

improvement, and then determine a plan of action to improve student performance. Team work

and individual contributions to the whole are very important, and it may be that problem points

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arise as the team strives to develop a process and make commitments to each other. When these

obstacles are overcome, there will be a sense of ownership and accomplishment in the results

that come from this school-wide effort.

District-wide research is far more complex and utilizes more resources, but the rewards can be

great. Issues can be organizational, community-based, performance-based, or processes for

decision-making. A district may choose to address a problem common to several schools or one

of organizational management. Downsides are the documentation requirements (communication)

to keep everyone in the loop, and the ability to keep the process in motion. Collecting data from

all participants needs a commitment from staff to do their fair share and to meet agreed-upon

deadlines for assignments. On the positive side, real school reform and change can take hold

based on a common understanding through inquiry. The involvement of multiple constituent

groups can lend energy to the process and create an environment of genuine stakeholders.

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Figure 1 : Types of Action Research

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Steps in Action Research

Within all the definitions of action research, there are four basic themes: empowerment of

participants, collaboration through participation, acquisition of knowledge, and social change. In

conducting action research, we structure routines for continuous confrontation with data on the

health of a school community. These routines are loosely guided by movement through five

phases of inquiry:

1. Indentification of problem area

2. Collection and organization of data

3. Interpretation of data

4. Action based on data

5. Reflection

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IDENTIFY A PROBLEM AREA

Teachers often have several questions they wish to investigate; however, it is important to limit

the question to one that is meaningful and doable in the confines of their daily work. Careful

planning at this first stage will limit false starts and frustrations. There are several criteria to

consider before investing the time and effort in ―researching‖ a problem. The question should An

important guideline in choosing a question is to ask if it is something over which the teacher has

influence. Is it something of interest and worth the time and effort that will be spent? Sometimes

there is a discrete problem that is readily identifiable. Or, the problem to be studied may come

from a feeling of discomfort or tension in the classroom. For example, a teacher may be using

the latest fashionable teaching strategy, yet not really knowing or understanding what or how

kids are learning.

be a higher-order question—not a yes/no

be stated in common language, avoiding jargon

be concise

be meaningful

not already have an answer

GATHER DATA

The collection of data is an important step in deciding what action needs to be taken. Multiple

sources of data are used to better understand the scope of happenings in the classroom or school.

There are many vehicles for collection of data:

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Select the data that are most appropriate for the issue being researched. Are the data easy to

collect? Are there sources readily available for use? How structured and systematic will the

collection be? Use at least three sources (triangulation) of data for the basis of actions. Organize

the data in a way that makes it useful to identify trends and themes. Data can be arranged by

gender, classroom, grade level, school, etc.

INTERPRET DATA

Analyze and identify major themes. Depending upon the question, teachers may wish to use

classroom data, individual data, or subgroup data. Some of the data are quantifiable and can be

analyzed without the use of statistics or technical assistance. Other data, such as opinions,

attitudes, or checklists, may be summarized in table form. Data that are not quantifiable can be

reviewed holistically and important elements or themes can be noted.

ACT ON EVIDENCE

Using the information from the data collection and review of current literature, design a plan of

action that will allow you to make a change and to study that change. It is important that only

one variable be altered. As with any experiment, if several changes are made at once, it will be

difficult to determine which action is responsible for the outcome. While the new technique is

being implemented, continue to document and collect data on performance.

EVALUATE RESULTS

Assess the effects of the intervention to determine if improvement has occurred. If there is

improvement, do the data clearly provide the supporting evidence? If no, what changes can be

made to the actions to elicit better results?

NEXT STEPS As a result of the action research project, identify additional questions raised by the data and plan

for additional improvements, revisions, and next steps.

ACTION RESEARCH DESIGN

The essentials of action research design are considered by Elliott (in Hopkins, 1993) as per the

following characteristic cycle:

Initially an exploratory stance is adopted, where an understanding of a problem is

developed and plans are made for some form of interventionary strategy. (The

Reconnaissance & General Plan .)

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Then the intervention is carried out . (The Action in Action Research)

During and around the time of the intervention, pertinent observations are collected in

various forms. (Monitoring the implementation by Observation. )

The new interventional strategies are carried out, and the cyclic process repeats,

continuing until a sufficient understanding of (or implement able solution for) the

problem is achieved (Reflection and Revision).

The protocol is iterative or cyclical in nature and is intended to foster deeper understanding of a

given situation, starting with conceptualizing and particularizing the problem and moving

through several interventions and evaluations. A representation of an AR protocol by Kemmis is

provided in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Action Research Protocol after Kemmis

Figure 1 clearly displays the iterative nature of AR along with the major steps of planning,

action, observation and reflection before revising the plan . This may be thought of as similar in

nature to the numerical computing technique known as successive approximation - the idea is to

close in upon a final goal or outcome by repeated iterations.

Later protocols reflect changes in the goal as determined via experience during the reflections of

earlier iterations of AR. For instance, Figure 2 reflects the evolution of the general idea or main

topic of interest throughout the process.

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Figure 2: Action Research after Elliott

Elliott's model emphasizes constant evolution and redefinition of the original goal through a

series of reconnaissances recurring every cycle. The reconnaissance necessarily includes some

degree of analysis. This design permits much greater flexibility, and seeks to "...recapture some

of the 'messiness' which the Kemmis version tends to gloss [over] " (Hopkins, 1985). Ebbutt

further illustrates the evolution of the overall plan through a spiral analogy, as described in

Figure 3.

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Principles of Action Research

What gives action research its unique flavour is the set of principles that guide the research.

Winter (1989) provides a comprehensive overview of six key principles.

1) Reflexive critique

An account of a situation, such as notes, transcripts or official documents, will make implicit

claims to be authoritative, i.e., it implies that it is factual and true. Truth in a social setting,

however, is relative to the teller. The principle of reflective critique ensures people reflect on

issues and processes and make explicit the interpretations, biases, assumptions and concerns

upon which judgments are made. In this way, practical accounts can give rise to theoretical

considerations.

2) Dialectical critique

Reality, particularly social reality, is consensually validated, which is to say it is shared through

language. Phenomena are conceptualized in dialogue, therefore a dialectical critique is required

to understand the set of relationships both between the phenomenon and its context, and between

the elements constituting the phenomenon. The key elements to focus attention on are those

constituent elements that are unstable, or in opposition to one another. These are the ones that are

most likely to create changes.

3) Collaborative Resource

Participants in an action research project are co-researchers. The principle of collaborative

resource presupposes that each person‘s ideas are equally significant as potential resources for

creating interpretive categories of analysis, negotiated among the participants. It strives to avoid

the skewing of credibility stemming from the prior status of an idea-holder. It especially makes

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possible the insights gleaned from noting the contradictions both between many viewpoints and

within a single viewpoint

4) Risk

The change process potentially threatens all previously established ways of doing things, thus

creating psychic fears among the practitioners. One of the more prominent fears comes from the

risk to ego stemming from open discussion of one‘s interpretations, ideas, and judgments.

Initiators of action research will use this principle to allay others‘ fears and invite participation

by pointing out that they, too, will be subject to the same process, and that whatever the

outcome, learning will take place.

5) Plural Structure

The nature of the research embodies a multiplicity of views, commentaries and critiques, leading

to multiple possible actions and interpretations. This plural structure of inquiry requires a plural

text for reporting. This means that there will be many accounts made explicit, with commentaries

on their contradictions, and a range of options for action presented. A report, therefore, acts as a

support for ongoing discussion among collaborators, rather than a final conclusion of fact.

6) Theory, Practice, Transformation

For action researchers, theory informs practice, practice refines theory, in a continuous

transformation. In any setting, people‘s actions are based on implicitly held assumptions,

theories and hypotheses, and with every observed result, theoretical knowledge is enhanced. The

two are intertwined aspects of a single change process. It is up to the researchers to make explicit

the theoretical justifications for the actions, and to question the bases of those justifications. The

ensuing practical applications that follow are subjected to further analysis, in a transformative

cycle that continuously alternates emphasis between theory and practice.

Evolution of Action Research

Origins in late 1940s

Kurt Lewin isgenerally considered the ‗father‘ of action research. A German social and

experimental psychologist, and one of thefounders of the Gestalt school, he was concerned with

social problems, andfocused on participative group processes for addressing conflict, crises,

andchange, generally within organizations. Initially, he was associated with the Center for Group

Dynamics at MITin Boston, but soon went on to establish his own National

TrainingLaboratories.

Lewin firstcoined the term ‗action research‘ in his 1946 paper ―Action Research andMinority

Problems‖, characterizing Action Research as ―a comparative research on the conditions

andeffects of various forms of social action and research leading to socialaction‖, using a process

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of ―a spiralof steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, andfact-finding

about the result of the action‖.

Eric Trist,another major contributor to the field from that immediate post-war era, was asocial

psychiatrist whose group at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relationsin London engaged in

applied social research, initially for the civilrepatriation of German prisoners of war. He and his

colleagues tended to focusmore on large-scale, multi-organizational problems.

Both Lewin andTrist applied their research to systemic change in and betweenorganizations.

They emphasized directprofessional - client collaboration and affirmed the role of group

relations asbasis for problem-solving. Both wereavid proponents of the principle that decisions

are best implemented by thosewho help make them.

Current Types of Action Research

By the mid-1970s,the field had evolved, revealing 4 main ‗streams‘ that had emerged:traditional,

contextural (action learning), radical, and educational actionresearch.

Traditional Action Research

Traditional Action Research stemmed from Lewin‘s work within organizations and

encompassesthe concepts and practices of Field Theory, Group Dynamics, T-Groups, and

theClinical Model. The growing importanceof labour-management relations led to the

application of action research in theareas of Organization Development, Quality of Working Life

(QWL),Socio-technical systems (e.g., Information Systems), and OrganizationalDemocracy.

This traditional approachtends toward the conservative, generally maintaining the status quo

withregards to organizational power structures.

Contextural Action Research (Action Learning)

Contextural Action Research, also sometimes referred to asAction Learning, is an approach

derived from Trist‘s work on relations betweenorganizations. It is c ontextural, insofar as it

entailsreconstituting the structural relations among actors in a social environment;domain-based,

in that it tries to involve all affected parties andstakeholders; holographic, as each participant

understands the working of thewhole; and it stresses that participants act as project designers

andco-researchers. The concept oforganizational ecology, and the use of search conferences

come out ofcontextural action research, which is more of a liberal philosophy, with

socialtransformation occurring by consensus and normative incrementalism.

Radical Action Research

The Radical stream, which has its roots in Marxian ‗dialectical materialism‘ and the

praxisorientations of Antonio Gramsci, has a strong focus on emancipation and theovercoming

of power imbalances. ParticipatoryAction Research, often found in liberationist movements and

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internationaldevelopment circles, and Feminist Action Research both strive for

socialtransformation via an advocacy process to strengthen peripheral groups insociety.

Educational Action Research

A fourth stream,that of Educational Action Research, has its foundations in the writings ofJohn

Dewey, the great American educational philosopher of the 1920s and 30s,who believed that

professional educators should become involved in communityproblem-solving. Its practitioners,

notsurprisingly, operate mainly out of educational institutions, and focus ondevelopment of

curriculum, professional development, and applying learning in asocial context. It is often the

casethat university-based action researchers work with primary and secondary schoolteachers

and students on community projects.

Action Research Tools

Action Researchis more of a holistic approach to problem-solving, rather than a single methodfor

collecting and analyzing data. Thus, it allows for several different research tools to be used as

theproject is conducted. These variousmethods, which are generally common to the qualitative

research paradigm,include: keeping a research journal, document collection and

analysis,participant observation recordings, questionnaire surveys, structured andunstructured

interviews, and case studies.