Contents:

PART I - ALL ABOUT ACTION RESEARCH

1 What is action research?
2 Why do action research?
3 Who can do action research?
4 What is involved in doing action research?
5 How is action research different from traditional research?
6 A summary of the main features of action research

PART 2 - WHY SHOULD I DO ACTION RESEARCH?

7 Action research and work-based learning
8 How can action research help me as a practitioner?
9 Action research and higher and continuing education: Accrediting work-based learning
10 Where is action research located in research methodologies?
11 What if I am unemployed? Can action research help me then?

PART 3 - HOW DO I DO ACTION RESEARCH?

12 How do I do action research?
13 How do I begin an action enquiry? What is my concern?
14 Developing a research question
15 Why am I concerned?
16 How do I show the situation as it is and as it develops?
17 What can I do about it? What will I do?
18 How do I generate evidence from the data?
19 How do I check that any conclusions I come to are reasonably fair and accurate?
20 How do I explain the significance of my research?
21 How do I modify my ideas and practices in light of my evaluation?

PART 4 - WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MY ACTION RESEARCH? WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS?

22 Implications for your own personal and professional development
23 Implications for whole organisational development
24 Your contribution to good social orders
25 Some implications of your action research for new ways of thinking (logics) and new ways of knowing (epistemologies)

PART 5 - WRITING AND DISSEMINATING YOUR ACTION RESEARCH

26 Developing new writing skills and capacities
27 Writing an action research report
28 Writing a progress report
29 Writing a proposal
30 Writing an academic report, dissertation or thesis
31 Compiling a professional portfolio

End word

References

Index