Action Research as a Research Method

Abstract

There are various kinds of approaches in carrying out a research. Most of these approaches aim at providing a better comprehension about things we are interested in by producing books to readers. However, it is inadequate that only understand and interpret the world ( Levin, 1948, cited in Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000, p.226). More importantly, as Marx (cited in Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000, p.226) points out in his Theses on Feuerbach, it is necessary to change the world. Action research, which combines “action†and “research†together, is widely adopted in the educational field in order to help people understand as well as make improvement of this world. It is just like what Cohen, Manion and Morrison (p.226) put forward “action research is a powerful tool for change and improvement at the local levelâ€.

This essay will analyze and discuss action research in detail. First of all, it will address the question “what is action research’’ and this definition about action research will be described from its scope and situation including an analysis of different perspectives provided by different people. Secondly, the main characteristics of action research will be discussed. In this section, I will discuss the advantages as well as disadvantages of action research from different aspects. By doing this, the quality of action research will be discovered. Then, I will analyze the procedure of conducting an action research. Some strategies for data analysis in action research will be put forward in this section and a consideration of ethical implication will be also taken into account. Finally, the main ideas of this article will be concluded plus a view of my own understanding on action research.