An Introduction to Action Research
Action research is seen to differ from other research methodologies in three fundamental ways. First, its primary goal is rooted in social change. Second, participants in action research studies accept responsibility for helping solve issues around a focus of inquiry. Third, relationships between the researcher(s) and study participants are more complex, often less heirarchical.
Most often, action research is viewed as an approach in which theory and practice are explored by posing questions, collecting data, and testing hypotheses through several cycles of action. The most common purpose of action research is to guide practitioners as they uncover answers to complex problems in disciplines such as education, health sciences, sociology, or anthropology.
The goals of social change are as unique as participants', contexts, and areas of inquiry. Action research has remained a durable methodology over time because its use is not limited to either positivist or heuristic approaches to exploring phenomena. It is, as John Dewey points out, an attitude of social inquiry rather than a specific research methodology.