Karim - you seem to be mixing methods. Action research is not a data collection method. Action research, from the beginning, needs to be determined and specified. I don't believe that you can call, it action research - nor would it be appropriate to 'add it' to your case study - unless that was the original intention or an outcome of a longitudinal action research study from the outset.

I agree with Dean Whitehead

Usually action research would imply an intention of action research from the start.

Isn't it that Action research is a typology just like explanatory, exploratory or descriptive research? In that case, various methods such as experimental, case study design etc can be employed in the study. The only difference is the action orientation to the study in that the study is conducted to find solutions for immediate application to solve a problem. For example, a researcher may conduct a study towards developing a new business model that will be tested or evaluated in a real business environment... e.g. a new business application, drug, fashion or beauty product, new car model etc.

As an adult education practitioner, I am thinking it in terms of community development programmes. A researcher may conduct studies from the community needs analysis stage, project inception, through its implementation, completion, evaluation and impact assessment. The research process becomes instrumental in the programme implementation actions. Whether the research is qualitative or quantitative is not the primary concern here.

I'm not all sure why something has to be action research defined as such "right from the beginning." It seems to me that an action component can be added as part of the emergent process in doing qualitative research. Ultimately, it is the presence of an action research component that makes something action research, not the timing of the intent.

So, I have not problem calling your research "a qualitative case study that incldued an action research component."

Thank you all for your valuable inputs. At first, I want to clarify that I never mentioned that action research is a data collection method. Second, as a novice researcher, I beleive that my area of confusion stems from the different approachs that various scholars / reviewers are giving to action research. It also stems from the unvieristy requirment to establish academic rigour. Some researchers suggests specific framewroks to conduct action research (i.e. Coghlan and Brannick, 2010, Greenwood, 2007). Others suggests that researchers could implement AR as a set of ethos by practicing observation, action, and reflection throughout the stage of the research.

As far as my research is concerned, it is about addressing a specificed workbased probelm. The stakeholders particpated in the research throughout the problem formulation, data analysis, and constructing and impleneting the action. I followed Stringer (2013) basic routine to action research (Look, Think, Act) during all the research phases. Hence, I can say that my study was action-oriented from the start. (Here, there is a debate among schoalrs about an action-oriented study and and a pure action research study).

Howeve, the research design followed Yin's approach to case study when it comes to sampling, data collection methods, and data analysis. This was a requirment to ensure rigour.

I think that the best way to explain my reseach is to refer to as a qualitative case study that embedded an action research approach. Do you agree with this suggestion?

You are right that there is a wide range of definitions out there for what is called "action research." When you look at all of them, the common thread is that the researchers are part of the situation being researched. It involves taking some sort of action, evaluating the outcomes, and resulting in changes in practice.

I think that this can be described in a case study, as long as you are honest about the role of the researcher as a participant, not just as an impartial observer.

You could actually do this without explicitly calling it "action research" as long as you are clear about the role of the researcher.

I have often seen methodologies in which a teacher or tutors engage with the students who are participants during the course of the study, advising or directing them in certain directions, but it is usually not called "action research."

Maybe call it "A qualitative case study describing an action research intervention" or "...an action research project."

Karim - I think that you are getting there - and good feedback from all here. Action research is cyclical overall and contains the potential for many different 'action cycles'. It is more complex than many realise. The Look, think, Act 'model' is useful - but it is somewhat simplistic and doesn't really convey the complexity. Attached is an article that describes a framework for action research in health promotion. I think that it more accurately conveys the complexity and various stages of action research.

It sounds that you have a good theoretical base to understand and justify your research approach, which is the key. So if you explain your choice of terminology and who you were informed by, then you can detail the qualitative case study as intended or implemented as an action research study. Good luck!

Dean Whitehead thank you for sharing the article.

And thank you all for sharing your valuable inputs, which helped me to figure out how to address my concern.

Action research has two main aims: Action-meaning bringing change in the community or organisation to solve problems, and Research - to enhance understanding of the depth and breadth of the problem and contributing factors which is essential to the researchers and also to the communities/organisations studied. We know that the balance between these two goals varies - we see action research where Research is dominant and action id a by-product, others have action/change dominate the picture. Therefore, action research is not that simple, researchers should be trained in conducting such research, and a good number of researchers with expertise in such studies need to be involved. Action Research usually consists of a cycle (cyclic) involving planning, followed by action, followed by critique and evaluation. Action research, therefore, is generally used for solving specific problems. Because of its complexity and in many times, the sensitivity of the problem/community several challenges faces the researchers to conduct Action Research. With these points in mind, I believe the issue is not just popularity but how we can prepare researchers with expertise in Action Research to solve and work on problems in communities and countries with limited resources.

Good Luck. I have no problem calling your research "a qualitative case study that incldued an action research component."

ADVOCATUS DIABOLI: You interviewed, you observed, and then wrote report on what you thought you understood you saw. Where is the research? First problem is that it is "qualitative." Second problem is that it is a case study---of one case? How many companies did you observe? If one company, how many people did you observed or interviewed? How did you code the content? Thesis defense is about presenting your points to convince people on objective basis....if you so-called finding comes from subjective interpretation of what you saw...that does not sound convincing.

In addition to what I said earlier, reading published papers covering case study or action research is a great way to compare how these two methods are different, when we should each technique, how the study is designed and written. This approach could deepen your understanding of these two methods and give you solid examples to link with each of the description given to each research method.

Thank you, Kevin, for your thoughtful feedback. I have an insider position as a researcher, so I guess that helps to consider my study as “action research-oriented”. I agree with you that the study of one company is not an issue for me. I am a professional doctorate student and not a Ph.D. student. The essence of my degree is to generate knowledge that helps to address a specific work-based problem while contributing to theory. By definition, my study is concerned with analytical generalizability and not statistical generalizability.

Why you do have to take a stand if your thesis is a research-oriented analysis of a workbased problem, let the reader make the final judgement, action or qualitative or both.