Introducing Action Research

Before commencing action research, you need to ensure you are starting out on a firm basis. It is very important that the research you undertake is robust and objective.

Once you have formed your team, here are some things that you need to consider as you jointly plan your action research. Click on the locker doors to see the questions...

Firstly, consider the focus of your research. What is it that you want to know? You must select a field to work on and consider how this will improve practice.

Secondly, clarify the theories that will underpin your work. This is important to help you ensure that your work will have value and will build on the best approaches. You should also consider your own values, beliefs and theoretical perspectives, and how these could influence the research. This is especially important in action research, as you are likely to be involved in the actions being carried out too.

Now you should identify the research questions that you want to address through your study.

Next think about the ways in which you are going to collect the data. All necessary data must be collected according to research goals and needs. Data should be reliable and valid. To ensure reasonable validity and reliability, action researchers should avoid relying on any single source of data.

You should also decide how you are going to analyse the data that you collect in your inquiry. Data analysis is an integral part of action research and occurs rapidly so that the outcomes can inform the next step in the process. A number of relatively user-friendly procedures can help a practitioner identify the trends and patterns in action research data.

Likewise, the reporting of the results must also be considered. Reporting should be objective and clear so that the researcher and organisation can take the necessary steps to implement improvement.

It is also a good idea, to think through the various agencies and processes that are likely be required, to take action according to results in order to provide improvement and developments in practice.