What is Action

Research?
By
Myleen Abelarde
 What is Action Research?
Action research is conducted by one or more
individuals or groups for the purpose of solving
a problem or obtaining information in order to
inform local practice. Those involved in action
research generally want to solve some kind of
day-to-day immediate problem, such as how to
decrease absenteeism or incidents, figure out
ways to use technology to improve the teaching
of mathematics, or increase funding.
 Basic Assumptions Underlying Action
Research
Assumption
Teachers and other education professionals
have the authority to make decisions.
Teachers and other education professionals
want to improve their practice.
Teachers and other education professionals are The entire staff-administration, teachers, counselors, and clerical staff-of an
committed to continual professional
development.
Teachers and other education professionals
will and can engage in systematic research.
Example
A team of teachers, after discussions with the school administration, decide to
meet weekly to revise the mathematics curriculum to make it more relevant to
low-achieving students.
A group of teachers decide to observe each other on a weekly basis and then
discuss ways to improve their teaching.
elementary school go on a retreat to plan ways to improve the attendance and
discipline policies for the school.
Following up on the example just listed above, the staff decides to collect data
by reviewing the attendance records of chronic absentees over the past year,
to interview a random sample of attendees and absentees to determine why
they differ, to hold a series of after-school roundtable sessions between
discipline-prone students and faculty to identify problems and discuss ways to
resolve issues of contention, and to selected students can serve as counselors
to students needing help with their assigned work.
 Types of Action Research

• Practical Action Research - Practical action

research is intended to address a specific
problem within a classroom, school or other
“community.”
• Participatory Action Research - Participatory
action research, while sharing the focus on a
specific local issue and on using the findings to
implement action, differs in important ways from
practical action research. The intent is to have
intensive involvement of all these stakeholders,
who function as equal partners.
 Level of Participation

• In part because of the influence of participatory action

research, more attention has paid in recent years to
the role of individuals who participate in research
projects. Historically, in most educational and other
research, the subjects in a study simply provided data
by being tested, observed, interviewed, and so forth.
They received little or no benefit other than a thank
you (and sometimes not even that).
• Such use of individuals raises questions of ethics, even
though there may be no risk, deception, or issues of
confidentiality involved. Consequently, more effort has
been directed toward at least informing the
participants in a study as to purposes of the study.
 Steps in Action Research

Action research involves four basic stages:

(1) identifying the research problem or question,
(2) obtaining the necessary information to
answer the question(s)
(3) analyzing and interpreting the information
that has been gathered, and
(4) developing a plan of action. Let us discuss
each of these stages in a bit more detail.
 Similarities and differences between Action
Research and Formal Quantitative and Qualitative
Research
Action Research Formal Research
Systematic inquiry. Systematic Inquiry.

Goal is to solve problems of local concern. Goal is to develop and test theories and to produce knowledge generalizable to
wide population.

Considerable training required to conduct such studies.

Little formal training required to conduct such studies.
Intent is to investigate larger issues.
Intent is to identify and correct problems of local concern.

Carried out by teacher or other local education professional. Carried out by researcher who is not usually involved in local situation.

Uses primarily teacher-developed instruments. Uses primarily professionally developed instruments.

More rigorous.
Less rigorous.
Frequently value-neutral.
Usually value-based.
Random samples (if possible) preferred.
Purposive samples selected.
Selective opinions of researcher never considered as data.
Selective opinions of researcher often considered as data.
Generalizability often appropriate.
Generalizability is very limited.