The Action Research Dissertation

Kathryn G. Herr is a faculty member in the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey.  She is co-author of the book Studying Your Own School: An Educator’s Guide to Qualitative Practitioner Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1994). She is also Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Youth and Society. Her professional background is in Social Work and Education. Gary L. Anderson is a professor in the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University. He is a former teacher and high school principal. He has written numerous articles on action research with co-author Kathryn Herr as well as articles and books on educational policy and leadership. He is the author of Advocacy Leadership: Toward a Post-reform Agenda (Routledge).

• ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the Authors1. Introduction: What Is an Action Research Dissertation?The Many Faces of Action ResearchToward a Definition of Action ResearchThe Action Research Dissertation2. Action Research Traditions and Knowledge InterestsThe Multiple Traditions of Action ResearchAction Research and Organizational Development/LearningAction ScienceParticipatory Research: The Legacy of Paulo FreireParticipatory EvaluationAction Research and Community PsychologyAction Research in EducationThe Teacher-as-Researcher Movement in BritainThe Practitioner Research Movement in North AmericaThe Danger of Co-OptationParticipatory Action Research with Youth: YPARAction Research as Narrative: Self-Study and AutoethnographyArts-Based Approaches to Action ResearchFeminist, Post-Colonial, and Antiracist Approaches to Action ResearchThe Knowledge Interests of Action ResearchNotes3. The Continuum of Positionality in Action ResearchInsider: Researcher Studies Own Self/PracticeInsider in Collaboration With Other InsidersInsider(s) in Collaboration With Outsider(s)PAR: Reciprocal Collaboration (Insider-Outsider Teams)PAR: Outsider(s) in Collaboration With Insider(s)Outsider(s) Studies Insider(s)Multiple PositionalitiesThe Outsider-Within Stance as a Flawed Approach to Action ResearchConclusionNote4. Quality Criteria for Action Research: An Ongoing ConversationDelegitimizing Action Research: Opposition in the AcademyRedefining Rigor: Criteria of Quality for Action ResearchReason and Bradbury’s Discussion of Validity and Choice PointsAddressing Bias in Action ResearchAre the Findings of Action Research Generalizable?The Politics of Action ResearchInstitutional MicropoliticsThe Politics of Redefining ProfessionalismThe Politics of KnowledgeThe Macropolitics of Action Research ProjectsNote5. Designing the Plane While Flying it: Proposing and Doing the DissertationPossibilities of a Pilot StudyThe Dissertation ProposalIntroducing the Proposed InquirySituating the Study in Relevant LiteratureMethodological ConsiderationsData Analysis and RepresentationWhere Do Action Research Questions Come From?Insider Action ResearchOutsider Action ResearchIssues of Design and MethodologyDesigning Insider Action ResearchDesigning Outsider Action ResearchThe Literature Review: Literature in Dialogue With the DataWriting the DissertationDefending the Dissertation6. What Does an Action Research Dissertation Look Like?Lynne Mock: Carving a Dissertation Out of a PAR ProjectThe Entry ProcessCreating Participatory StructuresWriting the DissertationEmphasizing the Strengths of Action ResearchResearcher-Initiated PAR StudiesInitiating the PAR StudyThe Emergent Design of the PAR ProcessCollaborative Data AnalysisDisseminating the Results: Multiple Forms of Representation and AudiencesJohn Mark Dyke: Insider Action ResearchFirst Phase of the WorkIterative Cycles of InquiryThe Dissertation ResearchGary W. Street: A Principal Cultivating Action ResearchConclusionNote7. Ethical Considerations and Action ResearchWorking with Institutional Review ProcessEthics in PracticeAuthentic CollaborationLearning to Be ResearchersWho’s the Writing For?Moving Beyond Do No Harm8. Final ThoughtsReferencesIndex