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Introduction to Action Research
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Introduction to Action Research
Social Research for Social Change

Second Edition


October 2006 | 320 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
The Second Edition of Introduction to Action Research: Social Research for Social Change makes social science matter! It focuses on how it is possible to combine practical problem solving with generating new theoretical insights. Authors Davydd J. Greenwood and Morten Levin combine a thorough discussion of the epistemological foundations of action research with a broad overview of major contemporary trends in the field.

New to the Second Edition:  
  • Includes a vast amount of updated information: Nine chapters have been significantly updated, including two new chapters that engage readers into the current debates on action research as "tradition" or its own "methodology," and how action research takes shape in the university environment. New textboxes highlight important issues in each chapter and more detailed cases and real-world examples illustrate the practical implications of AR in a variety of settings.
  • Incorporates a new structure: New information pertains specifically to issues of techniques, work forms, and research strategies based on the authors’ experiences in using the book in teaching. The book now has 4 parts instead of 3, with an entirely new section on higher education and democracy as a concluding section.
  • Emphasizes the skill sets needed to do action research: This book deals with the process of educating action researchers and reviews a number of programs that do this. Specific attention is given to the challenges of writing and intellectual property in AR, and more focus is devoted to both adult and formal education, creating a comprehensive overview of the field that is not found in any other action research book.

Intended Audience:  
This is an excellent textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in Action Research, Social Research, and Qualitative Research across the social sciences.

 
What Is Action Research?
 
Introduction: Action Research, Diversity, and Democracy
 
A History of Action Research
 
Action Research Cases From Practice: The Stories of Stongfjorden, Mondragón, and Programs for Employment and Workplace Systems at Cornell University
 
Science, Epistemology, and Practice in Action Research
 
An Epistemological Foundation for Action Research
 
Scientific Method and Action Research
 
Social Science Research Techniques, Work Forms, and Research Strategies in Action Research
 
Knowledge Generation in Action Research: The Dialectics of Local Knowledge and Research-based Knowledge
 
The Friendly Outsider: From AR as a Research Strategy to the Skills Needed to Become an Action Researcher
 
Varieties of Action Research Praxis: Liberating Human Potential
 
Pragmatic Action Research
 
Power, Liberation, Adult Education, Feminism, and Social Reform
 
Educational Action Research
 
Participatory evaluation
 
Rapid Rural Appraisal, Participatory Rural Appraisal, and Participatory Learning and Analysis
 
Human Inquiry, Collaborative Inquiry, Cooperative Inquiry, Action Inquiry, Self-reflective Inquiry, and Mapping the Varieties of Action Research
 
Action Science and Organizational Learning
 
Action Research, Higher Education, and Democracy
 
Educating Action Researchers
 
Action Research, Participation, and Democratization

Excellent resource on action research. More useful for postgraduate and academic level than undergraduate, but will add to reading list for cases when undergraduate dissertations use this model (usually have one every year or two.)

Dr Anna Feigenbaum
Social Sciences and Humanities, Richmond, The American Int'l University in London
October 28, 2011

This book is really useful for introducing Action Research to students with limited qualitative research training.

Ms Maggie Chapman
School of Health and Social Sciences, Napier University
October 17, 2009
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Key features
  • New textboxes highlight important issues in each chapter and connect real practice in action research to what is discussed in the respective chapters.
  • Two new chapters: Social Science Research Methodology and Action Research, dealing with the debate of AR as an integrated approach, or AR as its own methodology; and Action Research as University Reform.
  • Completely updated references and suggested further readings.
  • Many more detailed case studies and real-world examples to illustrate the practical implications of this approach in a variety of settings.
  • Entirely new section on higher education and democracy.

This title is also available on SAGE Research Methods, the ultimate digital methods library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.