Learning about action research

The emerging style of research in education is dubbed "action research" or "practitioner inquiry." One benefit of this style of research is that the practitioners, whether teachers or administrators, are forming the questions and gathering the data and drawing conclusions. This is superior to the former models which only engaged practitioners as a character in the study rather that a guiding force. The old styles were process-product and qualitative or interpretive. The first, which focuses on control in a linear process, depends on an outside researcher for the question. The other style, which also depends on an outside researcher, attempts to explain some phenomenon within the field of education. When the findings of these types of studies are published, implementation of the suggestions and conclusions of the research is difficult or never occurs. When teachers or administrators are engaged as researchers, their own questions and challenges are studied, and the data pertains directly to their students and campus. While a superior method of research for many reasons, the main concern of practitioners is that it is time intensive and requires a lot of planning and data analysis. The benefits of conducting this research should nevertheless draw educators to engage in action research to solve problems at the campus level.

Educators share common problems across the nation and even the world. The benefit of action research can be multiplied exponentially by encouraging practitioners to publish their findings systematically online in a searchable, accessible format like blogs, wikis, or research websites. As with any scientific process, sharing research findings in a peer-reviewed setting increases the reach of the results and helps practitioners form more effective questions by allowing them to do a literature review about the topic they wish to investigate.