Action research is an interactive inquiry process that balances problem solving
actions implemented in a collaborative context with data-driven collaborative
research to understand underlying causes, thereby enabling future predictions about personal and organizational change. The theory of
action research is far from an integrated or consistent theory. One can see a large variety of theoretical approaches and practical applications (developed dominantly in the past 30 years), but their common characteristics can be unambiguously identified. Reason and Bradbudy (2001) define their ‘participative
research’ and ‘
action research’ concepts with the same meaning as a collective concept, and offer the following definition: ‘
action research is a participatory, democratic process concerned with developing practical knowledge in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes, grounded in participatory worldview... It seeks to bring together
action and reflexion, theory and practice, in participation with others, in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people, and more generally the flourishing of individual persons and their communities’ ( Reason and Bradbury, 2001 , p. 2).
Learn more in:
Eight-Point Project: Action Research, as a Development Tool for Non-Profit Organizations