There are two fundamental steps when getting ready to do our projects: designing and planning.
Designing means how we are going to do our project. We have an idea of what it will look like. The aim is to turn the concept into a "living work of art". We begin to building a framework in our minds. We develop our own framework that shows which values are important to our research. The values give meaning to our identify in relation to others. It helps to organise the study. You need to explain to the participants and the readers on what we are doing and why we are doing it.
Sometimes, however, we do not realise our values in practice.
Planning is about how we implement the ideas of the design. We prepare logistical and operational aspects. For example, when, where, who will be involved and what resources are required. Action research involves continuous efforts of acting, reflecting on action and acting again in new ways of what we have found.
The following steps show action research to be disciplined approach:
We review our current practice.
We identify an area we wish to improve.
We ask focused questions on how we can improve it.
We imagine the way forward.
We try it out.
We take what happens.
We evaluate progress and establish procedures for making judgement.
Test the validity of knowledge claims.
Modify plans and continue with actions.
Evaluate modified action.
We are able to explain significance of the project.
We need to ask ourselves the questions of what are we concerned about and what issue we want to investigate. We then need to define the research question and able to present the situation we are at the moment. We are thinking of ways to what we can do about the situation to improve it. We need to be able to show the situation as it progresses. We think about the data and evidence that we can produce to show that what we are doing influences someone's learning. The findings will need to be reported, particularly in relevance and significance to what we have discovered. We also look at ways of how we modify our actions in light of the findings.
Action research is not only about problem solving, but identifying what we want to achieve in terms of the values we hold and offering reasoning for the actions we take.
The issue we want to investigate might not be necessary a problem. We need to be clear, however, what we want to investigate. We might also be denying our own values in practice. The research question will allow us to gather data and evidence related to the question. We test validity of our knowledge. We transform the question into knowledge claim through evidence.
If we can show the situation how it is, we can have a baseline for demonstrating progress. We generate data and evidence to support it. We need to make decision about which data will help us to support an argument. We want to show how learning improves actions, therefore we need to gather data to show the improvement in actions.
We must be selective to which participants we want to work with. Perhaps selecting a small group of people might be best as a start. We need to be sure that it will help us to generate data based on which we can make judgements about developing work together. It might be feasibly possible to do a quality research working with one person.
With data, we are trying to show improvement in practice. The evidence will show that we are helping others to learn.
Identifying the criteria and standards of judgement enables to know whether we are achieving our goals. Selected data then becomes the evidence. We interpret the data and think about possible actions to improve. To do it we must aim to gather data on the regular basis and keep records. We need to be able to show a progression and re-evaluate the position.
We might choose to use the same methods of gathering data and interview people to solicit their reactions.
The production of evidence may, however, become complex. We can produce 'before and after" videos, but to produce evidence of others learning you must ask the people. They will show their learning in action.
Different people have different idea on what counts as "good". We might evaluate the findings internally and externally. In external evaluations, an external observer makes judgements. In self-evaluation we make our own judgement. In action research, practitioners are encouraged to make their own subjective judgement. We gather data, identify criteria of standards and judgements, select pieces of data that acts as evidence, test the evidence, articulate the significance of what the research has done and finally, present to others.
We can communicate the significance through observations, descriptions and explanations. This includes the implications of your research for other people's thinking and the transformation of our own.
We need to ensure that judgements are accurate and fair. We can do it through personal validation and social validation. Personal validation involves testing your provisional knowledge claim against our own critical feedback. If the evidence is not sufficiently robust it is our own responsibility to strengthen it. Perhaps by re-analysing the data or gathering new meaningful data.
With external validation we subject our provisional knowledge to scrutiny of others. We might ask others whether the claim is truthful and whether with the evidence we can show that the claim is authentic.
The plan checklist
Firstly, we need to draw up provisional plan to organise tasks into manageable chunks.
Provisional plan
A. Planning and preparation
Identify research area and issue.
Initial reading and literature search.
Draw up ethics statement.
Plan and design project.
Meet and discuss with manager.
B. Resourcing
Draw up budget.
Submit request for funding.
Negotiate use of technology and technological support.
C. Working with other people
Discussion with management and policy makers.
Invitations to potential groups or participants.
Invitations and recruitment of critical friends.
Invitations and recruitment of potential validation group.
Send out letter requesting permission to the research.
Submit ethics application to ethics committee.
D. Doing the project
Identify research issue / check with others.
Identify contexts and background.
Articulate research question.
Data gathering.
Identify working criteria and standards of judgement.
Imagining actions / solutions: brainstorming with colleagues.
Try out possible actions / solutions.
Data gathering continues.
Data analysis: categories and identification of different data sets.
Generate evidence from data.
Articulate knowledge claim and test validity through validation procedures.
Articulate the significance of the project and provisional findings.
E. Evaluating significance of the project
Produce working document about the significance of the project for personal learning.
Produce and distribute working documents about its significance to others, invitation to respond and comment.
Negotiate date for responses.
F. Writing up the report
Produce draft report and send to colleagues for approval.
Receive responses and edit and revise report in response to negotiated recommendations.
Produce final report and disseminate to key persons.
We could see it as an initial plan and discuss with relevant persons. The more thought we put in this stage, the more likely we will be successful. Additionally, if we give plans to managers and principals in advance, they might be more likely to approve.
We might disseminate our findings through conferences, books or journal articles, radio, television, interest groups.
Read through subject literature to give you a reasonable foundation. The literature research is done so that we know what other people say about the concepts. Keep notes and references of the literature. It might be worth buying key texts for ourselves. We do not need to read the books cover to cover, but be selective. It is useful to keep key files and information on the computer.
In terms of ethics it is important to negotiate access and permission to do the research. It is important to produce the ethics statement and distribute it. We might not be able to complete the project without relevant permissions. We should try and keep people on our side and respect their wishes at all times. Try not to upset anyone if possible.
It is important to draw up a budget plan for your project. If any funding is necessary, secure them and allow safety margin. Technological support and printing is imperative to secure. Funds should be applied for well in advance. Drawing a detailed budget as soon as possible is the best point of action. Additionally, keep a monthly record of the accounts. It might seem time consuming, but it is essential.
Working with others well will help the project and its success. It is essential to draw up a schedule and agree with participants or their supervisors. You might be able to identify your critical friends you want to have good relationships with. Talk to all through your key ideas, establish their responsibilities and ensure that you know who will be validating your findings. We should never assume that people will be automatically available. The participants should be encouraged to produce regular reports on their progress. We also need to give them frequent and regular feedback. Thank people for their involvement and maintain professional conduct in everything you do.
The working schedule should be negotiated with your supervisor. It is your responsibility to write it down and not your supervisors. You only give them the copy and keep for your references. Any meetings should also be recorded, send them to participants and your supervisor.
Once the participants are identified, you can write to them and invite them. Let them know what will be involved and what their responsibilities are. Check peoples availability in advance and do not take their time for granted. Schedule meetings with the validation groups. The number of meetings will depend on the duration and complexity of the project. Aim to do the meetings at critical points of the project.
We also need to produce regular progress reports and send them in advance for validation meetings. Most importantly, archive all records for future references.
It is worth discussing your concerns and project subject with the colleagues and management. We want to choose area of research where we can be certain to show improvement. The issue in question as a subject of your project should be reasonably small. It is helpful to assess the project in light of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental aspects - PESTLE analysis. The area of research needs to be appropriate in the context of the organisation. Some issues might not be realised in a business. Interrogate your own thinking about the situation. Think on why you have chosen this particular area. Are there any personal values we hold or professional development we want to undertake? Its essential to know what we want to achieve. It might be worth writing our own personal and professional values, our own mission statement.
It is not possible to change the world overnight, but we can change ourselves. We can contribute to thinking of others in a short-term. Be sure that one question leads to another question as we develop.
We should also closely consider the practical and logical factors of our project. Timescales should be identified with start and end date. The same as the location, available time, funds, technical support and the participants. Any of those can be planned in advance, but we also need to be prepared for new eventualities. We almost, should be prepared for the entire project to fall apart. The experience could be used to form a new project on what we have learned from the experience. It might be helpful to produce a table with column questions: What?, Which, When?, Where? Why? How? and then check relevance of each task.
In order to show how the situation looks like at the moment we need to decide what type of data we can gather and act as the baseline data in order to show the situation as it is. We need to formulate the criteria by which we will evaluate the project success and what to look for. Data gathering methods are essential. We need to select which practices we will focus on and make sure any necessary technology is available that is required. We must be sensitive on what data we collect and identify specific areas for improvement. We need to keep hard copies of the files and code them to give them numbers. We should never throw away any data until the project is finished. We need to secure everyones permission for data before starting the project.
Eventually, we need to decide what we are going to do. We might imagine at least one way of doing things differently to address our concerns. We might plan the overall strategy on how we can do things differently. Check with others on the action plan. We might imagine possible future scenarios. Write down ideas on what we can do about the issue. We need to draw up a route map and assure ethical and professional conduct.
We need to e able to show the situation as it develops. We need to know on the data and how to gather and identify the values and criteria by which the progress will be evaluated. We might be able to identify the critical incidents to show the value of the research. Showing how the situation develops is our second data. We will be comparing it with the first set of data on how the situation looked like beforehand. the data needs to be kept tidy and in constant use. It might be worth to categorise the entire data to keep it organised and easy to access. Keep the data safe and archived.
The project will need to be evaluated to show its significance. We need to transform our values into criteria and standards of judgement to realise our values in the practice. We need to gather sufficient high quality data from which we are able to generate evidence. Checking our own judgements against those of colleagues might also be helpful. We must fully understand the data and the evidence. Keep written records. Write down how you have established the judgement criteria.
You need to make judgements about quality of the values and criteria we have found. Quality is demonstrated on how the values come to life. Evaluation begins with our own evaluation of practice about the quality of our actions. But it must be subjected to public scrutiny. We must be prepared to be challenged. We might be able to produce evidence to support our judgements.
The communication of significance of what we are doing will come next. We need to be able to show that we make a contribution to new thinking and new practices. Is the research significant to what we are doing important to us, others or for educational social purposes? Clarify your understanding of the importance of the process in demonstrating the quality of your practice and how people can learn from your research. We need to be ready to take responsibility for our work. If we do not do it, we cannot expect other people to take it seriously.
Ensure that your conclusions are fair and accurate. We need to test the validity of the knowledge claims and putting in place the process to enable us to do this. We must identify the validation group and schedule meetings. We may need to negotiate our values with them. Data needs to be organised to produce relevant evidence to ground our claims. We need to test the validity of the claims via our own judgement but also through the judgement of others. There is an obligation to carry out our external validity check. When producing evidence ask others to agree and modify as necessary. Be selective about the data used as evidence. Present sufficient evaluation of progress. Be clear what you are claiming to be achieved. Produce reports and summaries to inform people's thinking. Distribute those documents well in advance.
Finally, we should evaluate the experience of doing the project. We reflect critically on our own learning when doing the project. We then communicating it to others to prove our accountability. Consider what the project means for our own learning. Consider how our own learning might influence others learning. Consider how we could do thinks differently. Is there any new cycle of actions you might take next time? The reflection might be about ourselves or about the area of knowledge. The experience of doing the project might helped you to understand specific areas of our own practice or ourselves. We might be able to influence others learning through it.
Writing a report might be a complex task. We need to set aside enough time for it. We need to organise the writing schedule, arrange for reprographics of the report. Organise data and evidence.
The report needs to fulfil expectations of the workplace or programme. The report needs to demonstrate the awareness of the need for testing the validity of knowledge claims. It needs to be original, significant, impactful, error free and fully referenced.
Some people are highly disciplined in their writing and others go on inspiration. Decide what is best for you. It might be helpful to write the report in draft and expose to the feedback of others. Spend time editing and updating. You need to produce a high quality report.
Writing involves a small amount of talent and high amount of hard work.
Bibliography:
McNiff J 2016 You and your action research project. London ; New York : Routledge; Fourth edition.
Collis J & Hussey R 2014 Business Research A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Hampshire UK; Palgrave Macmillan;
Fourth Edition
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