Action Research

"From his clear description of the detailed and demanding work of collecting and analyzing data to the exploration of the broader historical and theoretical foundations of action research, Stringer provides an engaging and accessible introduction to students and community-based researchers. Using his own experience as a guide, Stringer’s style is personable and inviting, but at the same time he calls upon aspiring action researchers to grapple with the broader political and ethical challenges that frame our inquiry and the daily personal and professional demands of engaged social inquiry. He convinces us that we, too, want to do action research, and then shows how to do it!"
-Mary Brydon-Miller, University of Cincinnati

Community-based action research seeks to involve as active participants those who have traditionally been called subjects and is intended to result in a practical outcome related to the lives or work of the participants. No matter the setting-organizational, institutional, or educational-there are particular skills needed to conduct action research successfully. In Action Research, author Ernest T. Stringer provides a series of tools that assist the researcher in working through the research process. The Third Edition of this popular text provides a simple but highly effective model for approaching action research: * Look: Building a picture and gathering information * Think: Interpreting and explaining * Act: Resolving issues and problems.

Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization

Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization - Second Edition is an essential starting point for any student or researcher about to embark on an action research project in the fields of organization studies, health studies and education studies.

Revised and updated throughout, the Second Edition contains:

- No-nonsense guidance to the basics of doing action research projects

- Detailed coverage of both theory and methods in action research

- Up-to-date discussions of action learning and the role of the researcher

- A focus on the politics and ethics of action research

- Help for students and researchers in a wide range of different types of organization

- Exercises and help with writing-up your research

This book is essential reading for students and established academics alike seeking an entry-point to conducting research in their own organizations.

The Action Research Dissertation: A Guide for Students and Faculty

"The Action Research Dissertation should be required reading for any student contemplating using an action research approach in a thesis or dissertation project. Kathryn Herr and Gary Anderson serve as able and amiable navigators through the challenging but equally rewarding process of planning, carrying out, and completing an action research dissertation. Clear explanations, compelling exemplars, and an honest discussion of the challenges of conducting an action research project combined with a sense of the passion and commitment of those who choose this path, make the volume a balanced and engaging guide to all would-be action researchers." (Mary Brydon-Miller )

"This book fills an important gap in the action research literature by specifically addressing the growing practice of action research master’s studies and doctoral dissertations in colleges and universities throughout the world. Like the authors’ previous work, this book provides a broad and clear overview of the varieties of action research. The discussion of the underlying choices that action researchers operating in a university degree program need to make and how such choices affect the quality of an action research project from different perspectives is an extremely valuable resource for students and faculty. I plan to use this book with my own graduate students on a regular basis." (Ken Zeichner )

Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher

Known for its practical, step-by-step guidance for teachers on how to do research in classrooms. Born of the author's own experience working with teachers and principals, this book provides a step-by-step outline of how to "do" action research--backed by the most extensive theory and research coverage on the market today. The author guides future educators through the action research process via numerous concrete illustrations and a wealth of on-line resources; positioning it as a fundamental component of teaching, alongside curriculum development, assessment, and classroom management.

Key changes in the revision include: a new chapter on ethics (Chapter 5), expanded discussion of literature review, expanded discussion of data collection techniques using quantitative data collection techniques, expanded coverage of data analysis and interpretation techniques, and expanded coverage of descriptive statistics in Appendix B. Accessible, comprehensive, scholastically sound--this is a "hands-on" guide for anyone who aspires to be an exceptional educator. FEATURES: *NEW! Expanded coverage of "Ethics"--Includes a new chapter devoted to ethics (Chapter 5). *NEW!Revised and increased discussion of quantitative data techniques--Found throughout Chapter 3. *NEW! Expanded discussion on the use of style manuals (e.g., APA Manual of Style)-- Readers can find this important, applicable information in the newly added Chapter 8. *NEW! Increased discussion of descriptive statistics and action research-- Includes other ways to calculate standard deviation, not just by using SPSS (Appendix B). *NEW! Rearranged order of chapters pertaining to the writing of and sharing of action research-- Presents a clearer path to understanding. *Now in the new edition readers will learn about "Writing Up Action Research" (Chapter 8) before the "Sharing, Critiquing, and Celebrating Action Research" (Chapter 9). *Coverage of how to visually display qualitative data in appendix. * Provides basic usable tools for presenting and interpreting qualitative data. *Explanation of the four-step action research process--Accompanied by various models and discussion of each step's impact on results. * Guides, step-by-step, through conducting action research--identifying focus area, collecting data, analyzing/interpreting data, and action planning.* Explanation of the "3 E's" of data collection--Experiencing, enquiring, and examining. * Ensures teachers understand the crucial importance of thorough data collection to the success of any research. *Case study of Curtis Elementary School --Presented in Appendix I--follows the text's action research process as it happens in an example school.