Action research is a process of applied research undertaken by practitioners (such as teachers) with a goal of improving their own performance or the performance of the organization in which they work. Action research is focused, methodological, disciplined, self-reflective, and often collaborative. It is carried out in a real-life environment (such as a classroom or school building or district) rather than in a library or laboratory, and involves the engagement of participants in their actual settings in order to examine real-life situations and to recommend improvements.
Methodology is important to successful action research, and it needs to be considered carefully in research proposals and described accurately and thoroughly in the research report.
The links below offer explanations and examples of research proposals.
Writing Guides
Research to Practice: Guidelines for Planning Action Research Projects |
Ohio Literacy Research Center. |
An Overview of the Methodological Approach of Action Research |
Rory O'Brien, University of Toronto |
Eileen Ferrance, Brown University Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory |
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Sharon Parsons, San Jose State University |
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Infed (Informal education homepage) |
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Graduate School of Education, |
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Allan Feldman and Brenda Capobianco |
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Southern Cross University |
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North Central Regional Educational Laboratory |
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Madison (Wisconsin) Metropolitan School District |
Examples and Case Studies
Bob Dick, Southern Cross University |
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Michael Prendergast |
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Action Research Example: "How Technology Cheats Girls" |
Carolyn Csongradi |
Action Research for Staff Professional Development: Case Study of a School in Uganda |
Jaya Earnest, Research Unit for the Study of Societies in Change, Curtin University of Technology |
University of California Riverside, Copernicus Project (science education) |