I love action research (specifically in human relations/education). I have always observed, read, thought, then felt compelled to test by putting the ideas into action and making more observations, analyses etc. As a scientist (chemist) originally, this process in education where I now work seems to me to be akin to the scientific method. Am I right/wrong or is it just different, yielding different outcomes from so called 'pure' research.
Action research is for teachers like us to improve our practice, to teach more effectively (the plus). It's still research because it's a deliberate and honest attempt to improve our teaching. The minuses are due to the fact that we who carry it out are interested parties in the research and this has led to criticisms of the validity of the research process, 'with accusations of inevitable researcher bias in data gathering and analysis'. There are journals that publish action research like (Canadian J of action research) in this link, but I don't know of such journals in my country. So, Mark, you can publish action research.
http://cjar.nipissingu.ca/index.php/cjar
Action research makes some intuitive sense, and it may help with organizational change. However, action research may be difficult to publish, and so I would be wary about using it to conduct some research you were hoping to publish in an education journal. There are probably three reasons why it is difficult to publish:
1) Because action research can involve several small steps, each step may make too small a contribution to publish.
2) Because action research involves a spiral path, it borders on a wandering, random path that looks too unsystematic and uninformed to reviewers.
3) There have already been many major contributions to education research, going back over a century. I would recommend reading the literature and implementing something more substantial, rather than reinventing small wheels yourself.
Interesting advice. It matches what I discovered 13 years ago when I examined a couple of parameters that impacted on engagement in adolescents from low SES backgrounds. In this research, I observed interesting responses that could have been adopted to improve outcomes across the board, however, since then, I have found it difficult to use the results of my research on a broader stage exactly because of your points. That being said, the process of action research is still what I enjoy most, I wish I could have my cake and eat it too. Cheers.
This is a good question with many different answers, depending on the context of action research and the philosophy of those who are working toward a collective understanding of a multicultural society (seeing the big picture).
A good overview of action research for mathematics teachers is given in
B. Caswell, Teaching toward equity in mathematics, Ph.D. thesis, University of Toronto, 2011:
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/31710/3/Caswell_Beverly_201111_PhD_thesis.pdf
The research methodology for this project is described in chapter 3, starting on page 22. A report on participatory action research is given starting on page 50.
Action research is for teachers like us to improve our practice, to teach more effectively (the plus). It's still research because it's a deliberate and honest attempt to improve our teaching. The minuses are due to the fact that we who carry it out are interested parties in the research and this has led to criticisms of the validity of the research process, 'with accusations of inevitable researcher bias in data gathering and analysis'. There are journals that publish action research like (Canadian J of action research) in this link, but I don't know of such journals in my country. So, Mark, you can publish action research.
http://cjar.nipissingu.ca/index.php/cjar
An action research may result to a "best practice" but it can neither be replicated nor be used to predict outcomes, scientifically.
Thanks for the info Miranda and the point about bias. It is probably true, particularly in my case. I'll have to look at the journal.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Psychology
- Mental Processes
- Learning