Action Research.

1. Research Methodology
Action Research Designs
Madan Rijal
M.Ed. in Mathematics
Kathmandu University
School of Education
Instructor : Mr. Binod Pd. Pant
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2. OUTLINES
 Definition, use and its development
 Types of Action Research Designs
 Key Characteristics
 Potential ethical issues
 Steps in Conducting an Action Research Study
 Criteria for evaluating action research report
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3. DEFINITION
 Most applied and practical design
 Addresses a specific, practical issue and seeks to obtain solutions
 Systematic procedures done by teacher-researcher
 to gather information,
 subsequently improve teaching and students learning
 researchers address a local, practical problem
 researchers seek to empower, transform and emancipate
individual
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4. USES
 Solve specific educational problem
 Encourage educators to reflect on their practices
 Provide means to improve the practices
 Empower individuals through collaboration on projects
 Fosters a democratic approach in education
 Position teachers and educators as learners who seek to
narrow the gap between practice and their vision of
education
 Promote a process of testing new ideas.
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5. Development of Action Research
 Kurt Lewin (Social-psychologist)
 Construction of intercultural groups
 Groups processes consisted of 4 steps:
1. Planning 3. Observing
2. Acting 4. Reflecting
 Later spread from social to education sector
 Slowed during 1950s but again reemerged
in 1970s in Great Britain, USA and Australia
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6. Types of Action Research Design
1. Practical Action Research
• Educators seek to enhance educational practices
through study of local problem
• A small – scale research project
• Narrowly focuses on a specific problem or issue
• Undertaken by individual teachers or teams
within a school or school district
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7. Major ideas or Principles
Teacher-researchers
• Decision making authority
• Committed to continue professional development and
school improvement
• Reflect their practices individually or in team
• Use identifiable procedures to study problems
• Choose an area of focus, determine data collection
techniques, analyze and interpret data and develop action
plans
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8. Mills Dialectic Action Research Spiral
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9. 2. Participatory Action Research (PAR)
• Also named as participatory research, critical action research
and classroom action research
• Has a social and community orientation
• Emphasis on research that contributes to emancipate or
change in our society
• Emerged as an action-oriented
• Purpose is to improve the quality of people’s organizations,
communities and family lives.
• Differs by incorporating an emancipatory aim of improving and
empowering individuals and organizations in education and
others settings.
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10. Major ideas or Principles
Teacher-researchers
• Study issues and address which are creating constrains
to teachers and students
• Engage in a process that promotes egalitarian and
democratic aims
• Seek to bring about a new vision for schools,
communities agencies, youth clubs and ethic groups
within schools
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11. Six Central Features of PAR
- Kemmis and McTaggert
• PAR is a social process
• Inquiry is participatory
• Practical and collaborative
• Emancipatory process
• Critical
• Reflexive and change orientated
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12. Interacting Spiral
- Stringer (2007)
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This model contains three phases : Look, think and act.

13. Steps in Stringer’s Action Research Model
1. Look : Building the picture
 Process
 Record and Gather information
 Extend understanding
 Organizing meetings
 Communicating
2. Think : Interpreting and Analyzing
 Process
 Frameworks
 Categorizing and coding
 Enriching analysis using frameworks
 Writing reports collaboratively
 Presentations and performance
3. Act : Resolving Problems
 Process
 Planning
 Implementing
 Reviewing
 Evaluating
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14. Key Characteristics of Action Research
 A practical focus
 The educator-researcher’s own practices
 Collaboration
 A dynamic process (reflection, data collection and action)
 A plan of action
 Sharing research (Unlike traditional research)
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15. Potential Ethical Issues in Action
Research
Collaborating with participants, a central feature
of action research, may lead to ethical issues.
 Intimate and open-ended nature
(Due to which data collection cannot be coercive)
 Dual role of teacher-researcher
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16. Steps in Conducting Action Research
1. Determine if it is the best design to use
2. Identify a problem to study
3. Locate Resources to help address the problem
4. Identify information you will need
5. Implement the data collection
6. Analyze the data
7. Develop a plan for action
8. Implement the plan and reflect
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17. Criteria for evaluating action research
report
 These criteria are applicable to both practical action
research and PAR.
 In high-quality action research study, the author:
• focuses on an issue in practice or issue in local community
• collect multiple sources of data to help address the problem
• Collaboration with other to find the best solutions
• Shows respect for all collaborators
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18. Contd…
• Advances a plan of action for trying to solve the problem
• Reflects researchers own professional development
• Help to solve problem, enhance, empower and providing new
understanding to the participants
• Reports the research in a way that is understandable and useful
to audiences, including other professionals
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19. Thank You
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