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Introduction© Ian Hughes 2004Action research is a process for developing practical knowledge for worthwhile purposes leading to health and happiness for people and communities. It is about knowledge and practices that contribute to human well being and happiness (Reason & Bradbury 2001: 1). At the start of the Twenty-first Century, there is an international quickening of interest in action research in universities, health departments, development agencies and many other settings. We proclaim action research as a practice for systemic development of knowing and acting that is different to traditional academic research in important ways. Action research has different purposes, different ways of understanding knowledge in its relationship to practice, and different relationships to people in their context. ‘These are fundamental differences in our understanding of the nature of inquiry, not simply methodological niceties’ (Reason & Bradbury 2001: 1). This Action Research Electronic Reader is a work in progress. When first published in 1996, it provided readings for students of action research, and a forum for publication of useful papers. Since 2001, we have published original articles in the journal Action Research e-Reports, and have been revising the Reader as an introductory on-line text. Action ResearchAs Bob Dick puts is, action research is action-and-research (Dick 2000). Action research combines twin aims in a single process. Action researchers wish to improve some aspect of professional practice or social process, while generating new knowledge at the same time. Action research is not action for research (doing something to increase understanding), nor research for action (increasing knowledge to be applied later). These two purposes come together in a single project. An example of action research might be medical researchers
and doctors working together to study the effects of a new form of treatment in
clinical trials on sick people who are expected to benefit. Another example
would be a teacher engaging in careful study of her own practice, trying to
devise improved ways to assist children to master mathematics. In a third case,
a community development worker and a University researcher work with poor
farmers to invent a system for irrigation and drainage that can yield
sustainable crops without environmental degradation. Each of these projects aims
to solve a practical problem aims to directly benefit sick patients,
schoolchildren or subsistence farmers, and at the same time add to the stock of
knowledge (if the findings are published).
Action research is a process in which groups of people attain critical understanding and improvement of their situation through participatory plans, practices, observations and reflections. The fundamental feature of action research is not the well-known spiral (see Kemmis & McTaggart 1988), but ‘collective reflection by participants on systematic objectifications of their efforts to change thee way they work (constituted by discourse, organisation and power relations, and practice)’ (McTaggart 1992: 2). At its broadest, action research can refer to any process with the dual aim of changing a situation and producing knowledge. Researchers, as well as those they study, are human actors. The action frame of reference (Silverman 1971) rejects behaviourist approaches that limit study to the objectively observable things that people do. Behaviourist researchers define things they cannot directly observe (like feelings and intentions) in operational terms, so that third person observers can reliably identify them. The action frame of reference asserts that people form intentions. If we do not understand that people act in pursuit of human purposes, we will not understand human society in its complexity and its wholeness. Action research has great potential for professional practitioners (e.g., nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, educators) who want to research and improve their professional practice. Practitioners who combine good research methods with action for improvement can develop collaborative groups to observe their practice, collect and analyse data, reflect on what they have done, and plan to improve both their own practice, and the social, political and economic context that they work in. Participatory Action ResearchParticipatory research arises with the researcher’s concern about the politics of research. Questions about control and power, especially in the relationship between the researcher and those being researched, has led ethnographers, feminist researchers and others to collaborate with those who are researched. The researcher's role often becomes that of a facilitator who works collaboratively with research participants. The forms and extent of collaboration vary. In some cases, participants are involved in every aspect, including establishing research priorities, collecting data, interpreting data, and disseminating results. It is possible to have participatory research that is not action research, which does not necessarily seek to change some aspect of society. However, in practice, participatory approaches often lead directly to action. An example of participatory research might be a collaborative study of gender bias in employment practices undertaken by women employed in a government health department, or a survey of the occupational prestige of nurses undertaken by members of a nurses association. Participatory action research combines action research and participatory research. A group of stakeholders collaborate in inquiry, learning and action. Those who are affected by the outcomes of the research and action participate, not merely by providing data, but by active involvement in decision-making about what the project is about and how it is conducted. Those who own the problem contribute to and take ownership of the solution. Participatory action research is not an unachievable ideal. It is a practical way for people to come together to inquire into shared problems and work on solutions. It is becoming increasingly common for groups of people investigate problems of mutual concern, and take action for improvement together. Members of a group may come together to investigate a problem that affects their lives, perhaps in collaboration with a research consultant. They learn more about their own political, economic and social situation through analysis of the structural causes of the problem. This generates a process of collective action aimed at social change. Alternatively, people may form an action group to a change a social situation. To be effective in producing change, the action group needs greater understanding of the problem situation and knowledge about processes of change. This leads to collaborative action to generate the knowledge they need. Participation in society, and in social process, has many shades of meaning. Participation as a consumer can be as trivial as choosing which brand of toothpaste to pick up in a supermarket. Political participation may be casting a vote in a general election every four years. Using terms in this way, participation in research could mean as little as filling out a questionnaire, or answering a survey. This is not what participation means in participatory action research. In this context, the word means ‘participation in decision making’. A co-researcher is someone who engages in dialogue, so that their contribution can make a difference to the questions asked, the action taken, the research design, the action plan and/or the dissemination of results. Passive participation does not count. This does not mean that every participant must have the same input, or the same interests. Participants have different knowledge and skill, different wants and needs, and different amounts of time resources to contribute. Participatory action research raises issues in the relationship between the researcher and those researched. These can challenge the identity and status of academic researchers, and call into question assumptions about the ownership of knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and forms of publication. Relationships among co-researchers based on mutual respect, negotiation, and reciprocity produce the best results. Types of Action ResearchZuber-Skerritt (1991) and Masters (Masters, 1995) suggest that there are various types of action research, each of which is valid. Technical action research aims at effectiveness and efficiency in performance. That is, change in social practices. Participants are often co-opted, and rely on the outside expert. Practical action research involves transformation of the consciousness of participants as well as change in social practices. The expert is a process consultant, engaging in dialogue to encourage participants' cooperation, active participation and self-reflection. Emancipative action research includes the participants' liberation from tradition, self-deception and coercion, and their critique and transformation of the social practices and organisation (often bureaucratic) in which they are enmeshed. The expert is a process moderator, collaborating and sharing equal responsibility with the participants. All emancipative action research and many practical action research projects are participative. That is, people who affected by the outcomes of the action and the research (the stakeholders) actively participate in the research, including initial idea, planning, implementation, and reporting. Participatory action researchers in the emancipative tradition draw on the work of Paulo Freire, whose seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972) is very widely read. The core of Freire’s approach is to realise the liberating potential of reflection plus action. The combination of theory and practice in a single process (praxis) has potential to overcome the oppressive structures that can result from the alienating duality of mind and body (theory and practice, reflection and action). This is a powerful idea for cultural change. Hart and Bond (1995: 40-41) present a related typology of action research in health sciences. They arrange four types (experimental, organisational, professionalising and empowering action research) along a continuum from rational management to structural social change. All types of action research are valid. The type chosen and degree of participation will depend on a range of factors including the purposes and objectives, the interests of stakeholders, resources available and institutional context. Action InquiryAction research is one of a family of activities that share some features. Collectively they are known as 'action inquiry' (Tripp 2003). Other forms of action inquiry include: action learning, reflective practice, collaborative inquiry and continuous quality improvement. Different authors sometimes use the same terms with different meanings, and this can be confusing. Students are often confused by the boundary between action research and other forms of action inquiry. Some social researchers consider 'inquiry' to be synonymous with 'research', but the more common usage sees research as one form of inquiry. Inquiry includes any kind of investigation, knowledge seeking or information gathering. Inquiry may or may be more or less systematic, objective or public. 'Action inquiry' refers to any process of seeking or information by doing something and reflecting on what happens. Forms of inquiry that are not action inquiry include reading, introspection and logical deduction. Though all of these may be part of action inquiry, they are not action inquiry in themselves. It is not appropriate here to engage in long discussion about the nature of research. However, some distinctions will be useful. Scientific research is a method for generating knowledge from objective observation. Scientific research is objective, systematic and public. There are other types of research, such as journalistic, historical and legal research. There is a key distinction between public research and private learning. If knowledge is not published, or made available on the public record, it is not research. This does not mean that only what appears in peer reviewed scientific journals counts as research. Research is published in seminar presentations, local publications, on web pages and other media. However, if the results of inquiry inform only one person, or members of a single group or organisation, this is learning, not research. Research is a systematic process of creating public knowledge. Some writers use the term ‘action research’ for a type of personal learning, which does not lead to publication of results. I prefer to call this ‘action learning’ and avoid obscuring a fundamental purpose of action research, which is to add knowledge to the public record. Collaborative inquiry is a participatory action-oriented way of improving practice and developing knowledge through learning or research. Derived from the action research and action learning traditions, collaborative inquiry rests on participatory and democratic processes in an action inquiry group set up for the purpose (Bray et al 2000). Collaborative inquiry does not always include action to improve a social situation. Action research is one of a family of action inquiry technologies that complete two tasks in a single process. An action research project has both an action aim and a research question (Ouedraogo 1998). This distinguishes action research from other ways of generalizing knowledge and from other ways of solving practical problems or improving social systems. First-, second- and third-person researchMainstream modern social scientists typically conduct
research on people other than themselves, using instruments such as
questionnaires, interview schedules and so on. They report the results in a
research journal using a third-person voice. ‘As part of the attempt to
establish objectivity of scientific knowledge, [they] eliminate subjective and
intersubjective voices (or treat them only as data or practices to be
researched, rather than as necessary and legitimate research-initiating voices)
A participative worldview draws our attention to issues of
interdependence and power in knowing and doing. ‘These must be addressed in
inquiring relationships in face-to-face and small group interaction, about how
the research is situated in its wider political context’
Each co-researcher brings to social act of constructing
knowledge (whether in action inquiry groups or otherwise) the whole of him or
herself. As we learn to become action researchers; as we develop and improve our
capability; as we become aware of strengths, and enhance them or discover
weaknesses and overcome them, each of us works on ourself as a researcher. In
first-person inquiry, I examine and report on myself, and my internal processes Action research communitySystems thinking, complexity theory and ancient wisdoms recognise community (which is about relationships of trust) as the wellspring of knowledge making (Flood 1999; Senge 1990). Participatory action research takes place in various kinds of communities. When we draw on communities of scholars and researchers for support and inspiration, we can avoid the one sided and distorted knowledge that sometimes result from solitary inquiry. To increase the chances that your learning is holistic and well rounded, I encourage you to participate in dialogue, discussion and debate. These interactive processes are at the heart of many action research projects. Action inquiry is a social process for research, learning, action and reflection. For some people it can become a way of life. For all of us, our learning, research and collaboration will be more effective if we use congruent approaches. We can conduct our learning about action research so that the outcomes and the processes that we engage in promote the learning of all who participate, including ourselves. It is not enough to build knowledge. Our research should promote our overall health and happiness. With the re-organisation of the AROW Web Site in early 2004, we invite all our readers (whether enrolled in a course with us or not) to participate in an on-line community of knowledge. We invite you to add your stories, your friendly critique and your comments in our on-line discussion space. ReferencesBradbury, H., & Reason, P. (2001). Broadening the bandwith of validity: Issues and choice-points for improving the quality of action research. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice (pp. 447-456). London: Sage. Bray, J. N., Lee, J., Smith, L. L., & Yorks, L., (2000) Collaborative Inquiry in Practice: Action, Reflection and Meaning Making. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Chandler, D., & Torbert, B. (2003). Transforming inquiry and action: Interweaving 27 flavours of action research. Action Research, 1, 133-152. Dick, B. (2000) A beginner's guide to action research Lismore: Southern Cross Institute of Action Research. Available at http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/guide.html. Flood, R. L. (1999). Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning Within the Unknowable. London: Routledge. Freire, P (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harmonsdworth: Penguin. Kemmis, S. & R. McTaggart (1988) The Action Research Planner, Geelong: Deakin University. Masters, J. (2001). The History of Action Research. Action Research e-Reports, 3, Available: http://www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/003.htm McKernan, J. (1991) Curriculum Action Research. A Handbook of Methods and Resources for the Reflective Practitioner, London: Kogan Page McTaggart, R. 1992, Action research: Issues in theory and practice, paper presented to Methodological Issues in Qualitative Health Research Conference, Deakin University. Ouedraogo B et al (1998) Action Research Training Manual, Ougadougou: Cours International de Formation en Recherche Action (CIFRA). Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (2001). Introduction: Inquiry and participatiion in search of a world worthy of human aspiration. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook for Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice (pp. 1-14). London: Sage. Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organisation. New York: Doubleday-Currency. Silverman, D. (1971). Social Action Theory. New York: Basic Books. Tripp, D. (2003) Action Inquiry, Action Research e-Reports, 17, available on-line at www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/017.htm Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1991). Action Research for Change and Development. Aldershot: Avebury. Originally written 1996. Revised February 2000, June 2001, July 2003, February 2004. This article may be cited as: Hughes, I. (2004) Introduction in I. Hughes (ed) Action Research Electronic Reader, Sydney: The University of Sydney, available at www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/o/reader/rintro.htm |
