action research

Action research seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946 paper "Action Research and Minority Problems" he described action research as "a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that uses "a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action".

Action research practitioners reflect upon the consequences of their own questions, beliefs, assumptions, and practices with the goal of understanding, developing, and improving social practices.^[1] This action is designed to create three levels of change^[2] (1) self-change as the only subject of action research is the person who conducting the research. This person is seeking to be better understand the effects of their action in social settings and to engage in a process of living his or hers values. The second level is a collective process of understanding change in a classroom,^[3] office, community, organization or institution. Action research enlists others, and works to create a democratic sharing of voice to achieve deeper understanding of collective actions.^[4] It is a process of sharing finding with the community of researchers. This can be done in many ways, in journals,^[5] on websites, in books, in videos or at conferences. The Social Publishers Foundation^[6]provides support for this process.

Action research involves actively participating in a change situation, often via an existing organization, whilst simultaneously conducting research. It can also be undertaken by larger organizations or institutions, assisted or guided by professional researchers, with the aim of improving their strategies, practices and knowledge of the environments within which they practice. As designers and stakeholders, researchers work with others to propose a new course of action to help their community improve its work practices. Depending upon the nature of the people involved in the action research as well as the person(s) organizing it, there are different ways of describing action research.^[7]

• Collaborative Action Research
• Participatory Action Research
• Community-Based Action Research
• Youth Action Research
• Action Research and Action Learning
• Participatory Action Learning and Action Research
• Collective Action Research