Usually, when one thinks of the word “research”, he pictures stacks of books, many hours spent in a library, and even a multitude of pages printed from various Internet sources. When talking about “action research”, however, this is not the case. To me, action research involves more than just the scientific approach to research. It is not just a fact of finding facts and statistics that support you research; instead, it involves actions, those things that can be done to reach a certain outcome. According to Kemmis & McTaggart (1988) and cited in Eileen Ferrance’s text Action Research, action research is the “deliberate, solution-oriented investigation that is group or personally owned and conducted. It is characterized by problem identification, systematic data collection, reflection, analysis, data-driven action taken, and problem redefinition” (p. 26). Dr. Arterbury goes on to explain action research as a “systematic approach to collecting data and solving a problem” (p. 2). I see action research as a blend of the two: data and solution. Data must be used in order for valid, realistic solutions to be developed. I have also learned that action research involves the participation of many. In order for outcomes to change, the involvement of more than just the researcher is necessary.
Resources:
Arterbury, Elvis and Jenkins, Steve. EDLD301 Research. Lamar University.
Week One Lecture Notes. July 2010.
Ferrance, Eileen. Retrieved from http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ ed/act_research.pdf retrieved on July 9, 2010.
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