Action
research and evaluation on line
Session
1: Applications
This is
Session 1 of areol, action research and evaluation on line, a
14-week public course offered as a free public service by
ALARA (Action Learning Action Research Assn. Inc.
and Bob Dick.
...in
which some typical applications of action research and related
methodologies are discussed, and typical action research
processes are briefly described
|
Think
for a moment about the various activities you do in
the course of a day. As you read through the
examples below, watch out for similarities to your own
activities. Perhaps you can describe what
you are doing as action research ...
...
and, having done that, perhaps you can use action
research processes and concepts to improve and
understand what you are doing and how you are doing it
|
In
this session:
I've briefly
explained in the orientation, and in abstract terms, my
understanding of action research. But what is it in
practical terms?
Consider the
following examples...
You are a
practitioner working in a community. You are isolated from
most of your profession. Strongly committed to your
professional development, you find few opportunities for it.
You wish to improve your practice.
You decide
that the conventional opportunities in your area are not
promising. You adopt a regular practice, each evening, of
spending 15 minutes in critical reflection. First you
recall, in as much detail as you can, the events of the day.
In particular, you note those events which did not work out as
well as you would like.
You identify
what you have learnt from each experience. Then you review
the likely events on the following day. You look for
opportunities to apply the learning from the previous
day.
You could
call what you are doing "experiential learning". If that
sounds a bit fancy, you could call it "professional development".
You could also describe it as action research. 1
You are a
member of a small rural community. In recent years the local
government has made several decisions which disadvantage
you. When you complain, you are ignored.
You decide to
study the situation, so that you can act with better
understanding. You also decide that you will try to build
closer relationships with the local politicians who seem not to
understand your situation. If they don't understand you, you
reason, at least you can begin to understand them.
Through these
activities you learn more about your own situation, and the
situation of the politicians and other interest groups. You
are eventually able to have more influence in local decision
making.
This might be
called "social activism". Or "conscientisation". Or
(done in certain ways) "action research".
You work as
an experienced practitioner in a large public sector
organisation. Your boss is pressuring you to upgrade your
qualifications. With the increased workload in your job,
though, you don't think you have the time to seek further
qualifications.
Because of
your experience, you are often given the more demanding
assignments. This, too, militates against study.
An idea
occurs to you. Perhaps you can use your work as a vehicle
for research for a higher degree. You enrol at a university
which provides supervision for applied qualitative
research.
You identify
a number of forthcoming work assignments which are related.
In each, you work participatively with those most affected to
develop an effective approach. With their help, you document
and review your process.
You also
reflect upon and document your individual experience
regularly. In time, you submit it as a thesis.
You could
call this "study" or "upgrading your qualifications". You
could also describe it as action research.
You are chief
executive officer of a medium sized organisation. The
organisation, faced with unexpected change in the market, suffers
from low profits. There is high turnover amongst key
staff. You would like to do something about it.
With your
management team, you plan to meet weekly to improve what you are
doing. A member of the team suggests that you don't always
learn effectively from each other, or from your own experience.
You believe this is true, and wish to take it into
account.
Each week,
the team reviews the progress of the previous week. As chief
executive, you make a point of giving praise to those subordinates
who have experienced problems and learned from them. Over
time, the openness of the group increases.
You have now
reached a stage where the managerial skills of the team have
visibly improved. Learning is more effective. You
attribute this to the willingness to be open, to learn from past
experience, and to apply what you have learned.
You could
call this "good team management" or "organisational
learning". You could also describe it as action
research.
At the end of
each meeting, you review that meeting. You and your
colleagues identify the strengths and weaknesses of the way the
meeting was conducted. You then plan changes to your meeting
procedures in the light of this review.
This might be
called "group facilitation", or "improving meeting
procedures". Here, too, you could describe it as action
research.
The four
situations above vary on a range of dimensions: the number of
people directly involved; their motivations; the activities which
are being improved; the uses made of what is learned; and so
on.
Some of them
also pick up other themes in current literature -- I've identified
experiential learning and the learning organisation, among
others.
But that's to
be expected. Human activity systems, as Peter Checkland
calls them, are complex. They don't fit easily into just one
or two (or twenty) clear categories.
How many of these resemble activities which you could easily
combine with your daily work and life?
The examples
above could be labelled as action research. Activities like
them frequently are.
There has
been enough bad research labelled as "action research". I'd
prefer not to add to that. Unless they use a cyclic process
which alternates action and critical reflection they don't fit my
preferred definition.
What would you have to do to make your reflection systematic
and critical enough that you could have faith in your
conclusions?
Or consider
these...
You are
a teacher or an academic with a busy teaching schedule. You
would like to improve your teaching. At the same time, you
think it would enhance your chances of promotion if you could also
publish more.
You institute
a number of procedures to satisfy both of these wishes. You reach
agreement with your classes that they will provide regular,
evidence-based and thoughtful feedback to you. In return you
offer to implement as many of their suggestions as you can. You
also offer to explain when and why you can't follow their
suggestions.
This leads to
immediate improvement from week to week. As well, you
conduct a major evaluation at the end of each class. This
leads to improvement from semester to semester.
You publish
your experiences in a journal for higher education.
There are
many ways of describing what you are doing, including "student
centred learning" and "reflective teaching" and
"publishing". And action research.
You work as a
consultant in private practice. You specialise in providing
help with strategic planning for voluntary
organisations.
You have
begun working with one of these organisations. After some
weeks the director approaches you with a request that you document
your experience. Your assistance has been very useful.
The director would like other organisations to benefit from the
processes you use.
You are
interested. But you would like to be assured that the
material you document is of sufficient quality. You ask the
director if the organisation is willing to help you critique and
refine the processes you use.
You have been
working closely with a small working party from within the
organisation. At your request they agree that you will
document your planning meetings in such a way that you can track
the relative successes and failures of your planning.
They also
agree to help you validate and refine your processes by
interviewing other organisational members about the strengths and
weaknesses of the strategic planning.
You prepare a
draft. The working party members critique it for you. They
help you make it more suitable for your target audience. You
publish it as joint editors.
Again there
are many labels you could apply to this, most prominently
"education" or "publication". You could also describe it as
action research
Local people
from a poor community approach you. They ask you to help
them solve some specific problems with their housing.
You believe
that the housing problems are symptoms of their general
disadvantage. You suspect that they do not understood the
ways in which the wider society acts unwittingly to disadvantage
them. If they did realise this, you think they could remedy
more than just their housing problems.
With their
agreement, you engage them as co-researchers into the
problem. Through regular critical reflection they come to
understand their situation better. They are able in time to
act politically to overcome some of their disadvantage.
You could
describe what you (and they) are doing as "empowerment" or
"do-it-yourself social research" or "community development" or
"citizen participation" or ... even action
research.
I could add:
"You offer an on line course in action research and
evaluation...".
What
is action research?
In the
orientation session, I described action research as action
and research. I regard it as a family of processes
which allow the dual pursuit of action, or change, and research,
or understanding.
I would add
critical reflection as another essential or nearly-essential
characteristic. Action research can be regarded as a cyclic
process which alternates between action and critical
reflection.
...
action --> reflection --> action --> reflection
...
There are
other features which various people regard as essential.
Some, for example, believe that action research must be
participative. I have heard it argued that it must be at
least partly qualitative. There are some who believe that it must
be published. For me, these are choices.
Later
sessions explore some of these issues further.
I mention
these matters, not to persuade you to a point of view, but rather
to indicate the approach taken in this program. It's
simpler, I think, if I'm open about my own preferences and speak
from my own experience. But I have a strong preference that
you judge my ideas on their merits. I hope you take into
account their relevance to your situation.
In short, I
assume you will make up your own mind.
Most
descriptions of action research stress its cyclic or spiral
nature. Perhaps the most common is the cycle we might call
the Deakin model: first planning, then action, then observation,
then reflection; then back to planning and the beginning of the
next cycle:
...
plan --> act --> observe --> reflect --> plan
...
A similar
version captures the alternation between action and reflection
mentioned above. In turn, reflection consists of a review of
the previous action followed by planning for the next
action:
...
intend --> act --> review --> intend ...
Another way
of describing the spiral captures for me the unavoidable
uncertainty of change programs. In this model, the process
begins with broad and general questions, using general (or
"fuzzy") methods. In all probability, this will yield only
fuzzy answers. But that is enough to allow more precise questions
and methods in the next cycle:
... fuzzy
questions --> fuzzy methods --> fuzzy answers --> less
fuzzy questions ...
In other
words, I think of action research as an iterative process. It
converges on a better understanding of the situation. The
better understanding allows improved action.
Here is a
different way of classifying action research: in terms of the main
emphasis. You might choose two categories...
One, "action
research", emphasises the research component. The
important aim is to build better understanding. Change may
also be pursued, but is less a priority.
The second
might be called "action research". It pursues change
as its first priority. If there are research outcomes too,
that is a bonus.
There are
examples of both of these above.
Whatever the
variety of action research, both change and understanding are
usually desirable.
To someone
steeped in experimental research methodologies, those two aims
might appear to be in opposition. For me, one of the
defining features of action research is that it allows both to be
achieved, and often achieved well.
Further, it
seems to me that action and research can enhance each
other. On balance, it is when action is well informed by
research that it is most likely to be effective. In
addition, it is when a system is undergoing change that its
dynamics are most apparent, and often therefore most easily
understood.
Archived
resources
The examples
above are brief. Two extended case studies have been placed
on the arlist archive.
The first is
an evaluation study. It is not very participative: the
people take part mainly as informants. The emphasis is on
careful data collection and interpretation. It illustrates a
form of action research in which the research outcomes are given
highest priority.
http://www.aral.com.au/resources/case1.html
(Other
resource files will be mentioned from time to time.
Substituting their filename for "case1" retrieves them.)
The second is
a decision-making exercise involving people in many different
interest groups, with many different interests and
positions. The emphasis is on reaching decisions which have
wide acceptance. High participation is therefore pursued,
despite the difficulties of doing so. It is an example of
action research in which the action is the main focus.
The URL
is
http://www.aral.com.au/resources/case2.html
Other
archived resources
which deal with action research:
- arfaq
- a partial
"frequently-asked-questions" file
- http://www.aral.com.au/resources/arfaq.html
- guide
- a
beginners guide to action research
http://www.aral.com.au/resources/guide.html
- actlearn
- the
relationship between action research and action learning
http://www.aral.com.au/resources/actlearn.html
Notes
- Some
writers insist on publication as a necessary component of
action research.
[ back
]
Activities
A
thought experiment
Think back
over a typical day or week. Consider these
questions:
To
judge from the earlier examples and the two archived cases, how
much of what you do can be regarded as action research? Does
it include critical reflection within a cyclic
process?
Is it
"action research", or "action research"? Can you
improve it by strengthening the weaker component? Can you
improve it by integrating the action and research components
more?
How much
critical reflection do you engage in? In what ways might more,
or more regular, critical reflection improve your practice and
your understanding? How might you do that?
An
individual activity
During the
next week, set aside in your diary at least 10 minutes at the end
of each day. Use this time for critical reflection on the
day's activities.
A later
session will suggest a more detailed format for critical
reflection. For now, you may find the following three steps
useful:
Recall
the day in as much detail and vividness as you can. (You
can include family and social activities, not just work)
Identify
some surprises or unexpected results, and what you learned from
them
Devise
some future way of putting the new learning to work
For
your learning group
When your
learning groups are set up, there are a number of tasks suggested
for you in the orientation sessions. Important are: getting
to know each other; deciding what outcomes you want from the
learning group; deciding how you will operate together.
If you have
done that, it would be useful for you to exchange information on
your projects. You can then decide the order in which you
will work through them.
Some ways of
carrying out these early learning group activities were included
in one of the orientation files.
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Let's
practice action research on areol. What ideas do
you have for improving this session? What didn't you
understand? What examples and resources can you
provide from your own experience? What else? If you
are subscribed to the email version, send your
comments to the discussion
list.
Otherwise, send them to Bob
Dick
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This
session has provided a number of brief examples of situations
which might be described as action research. In addition it
has pointed the way to two more detailed case studies. One
displays an emphasis on research through careful data collection
and interpretation. The other emphasises action by pursuing
high participant involvement.
This will be
a recurring theme: action research as action and
research.
In addition,
I've provided a number of descriptions of action research.
These emphasised its cyclic nature.
The next
session explores this further, and examines how change can be
achieved. See you then -- Bob
_____
Copyright
© Bob Dick 2002. May be copied provided it is not
included in material sold at a profit, and this and the following
notice are shown.
This document
may be cited as follows:
Dick,
B. (2002) Applications. Session 1 of Areol -
action research and evaluation on line.
URL
http://www.aral.com.au/areol/areol-session01.html
Maintained by
Bob
Dick;
this version 11.02w; last revised 20020712