The Action Research Dissertation; A Guide for Students and Faculty

by Kathryn Herr

• ISBN13: 9780761929918
• ISBN10: 0761929916
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-12
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

"This book fills an important gap in the action research literature by specifically addressing the growing practice of action research mastera??s studies and doctoral dissertations in colleges and universities throughout the world. Like the authorsa?? previous work, this book provides a broad and clear overview of the varieties of action research. The discussion of the underlying choices that action researchers operating in a university degree program need to make and how such choices affect the quality of an action research project from different perspectives is an extremely valuable resource for students and faculty. I plan to use this book with my own graduate students on a regular basis.a?? a??Ken Zeichner, University of Wisconsin, Madison "Finally, a thoughtful, accessible, and immensely helpful volume designed to promote dialogue among doctoral students and faculty about dissertation studies grounded in the everyday worlds of practice. By creating spaces for deep discussion about the decisions dissertators make (rather than proposing and arguing for particular solutions), the book sets doctoral researchers on their own quest for meaning, clarity and coherence. The rhetoric and contents of the book thus mirror its authorsa?? commitment to agency for doctoral students seeking to make their inquiries of value both within and beyond the academy.a?? a??Susan Lytle, University of Pennsylvania a??The authors have deftly produced a thoughtful, comprehensive, and much needed overview of the process of creating an action research dissertation that is sure to benefit generations of students and their faculty mentors.a?? a??Davydd Greenwood, Cornell University a?? The Action Research Dissertation should be required reading for any student contemplating using an action research approach in a thesis or dissertation project. Kathryn Herr and Gary Anderson serve as able and amiable navigators through the challenging but equally rewarding process of planning, carrying out, and completing an action research dissertation. Clear explanations, compelling exemplars, and an honest discussion of the challenges of conducting an action research project combined with a sense of the passion and commitment of those who choose this path, make the volume a balanced and engaging guide to all would-be action researchers.a?? a??Mary Brydon-Miller, University of Cincinnati Many students struggle with turning action research projects into a Mastera??s thesis or doctoral dissertation and receive little guidance from their advisors. To address this need, authors Kathryn Herr and Gary L. Anderson have distilled decades of action research experience into a first-of-its-kind reference for graduate students. The Action Research Dissertation: A Guide for Students and Faculty provides an accessible roadmap that honors the complexity of action research. It will show that action research is appropriate not only for a dissertation, but also a deeply rewarding experience for both the researcher and participants. This book helps students understand the ways action research dissertations are different from more traditional dissertations and prepares students and their committees for the unique dilemmas they may face, such as validity, positionality, design, write-up, ethics, and defense of the dissertation. The Action Research Dissertation is a must-have resource for any student contemplating an action research project, thesis, or disserta

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Foreword	xi
Patricia Maguire
Preface	xv
Introduction: What Is an Action Research Dissertation?	1	(7)
The Many Faces of Action Research	2	(1)
Toward a Definition of Action Research	3	(3)
The Action Research Dissertation	6	(2)
Action Research Traditions and Knowledge Interests	8	(21)
The Multiple Traditions of Action Research	10	(1)
Action Research and Organizational Development/Learning	11	(2)
Action Science	13	(2)
Participatory Research: The Legacy of Paulo Freire	15	(2)
Participatory Evaluation	17	(1)
Action Research in Education	17	(2)
The Teacher-as-Researcher Movement in Britain	19	(2)
The Practitioner Research Movement in North America	21	(2)
The Danger of Co-optation	23	(1)
Action Research as Self-Study and Autoethnography	24	(1)
Emerging Approaches to Action Research	25	(1)
The Knowledge Interests of Action Research	26	(3)
The Continuum of Positionality in Action Research	29	(20)
Insider: Researcher studies own self/practice	32	(4)
Insider in Collaboration With Other Insiders	36	(1)
Insider(s) in Collaboration With Outsider(s)	37	(1)
PAR: Reciprocal Collaboration (Insider-Outsider Teams)	38	(1)
PAR: Outsider(s) in Collaboration With Insider(s)	38	(3)
Outsider(s) Studies Insider(s)	41	(2)
Multiple Positionalities	43	(3)
The Outsider-Within Stance as a Flawed Approach to Action Research	46	(2)
Conclusion	48	(1)
Quality Criteria for Action Research: An Ongoing Conversation	49	(20)
Delegitimizing Action Research: Opposition in the Academy	52	(1)
Redefining Rigor: Criteria of Quality for Action Research	53	(4)
Reason and Bradbury's Discussion of Validity and Choice Points	57	(3)
Addressing Bias in Action Research	60	(1)
Are the Findings of Action Research Generalizable?	61	(3)
The Politics of Action Research	64	(5)
Institutional Micropolitics	65	(1)
The Politics of Redefining Professionalism	66	(1)
The Politics of Knowledge	67	(1)
The Macropolitics of Action Research Projects	67	(2)
Designing the Plane While Flying it: Proposing and Doing the Dissertation	69	(20)
The Dissertation Proposal	70	(2)
Where Do Action Research Questions Come From?	72	(4)
Insider Action Research	72	(3)
Outsider Action Research	75	(1)
Issues of Design and Methodology	76	(8)
Designing Insider Action Research	78	(4)
Designing Outsider Action Research	82	(2)
The Literature Review: Literature in Dialogue With the Data	84	(1)
Writing the Dissertation	85	(2)
Defending the Dissertation	87	(2)
What Does an Action Research Dissertation Look Like?	89	(23)
Lynne Mock: Carving a Dissertation out of a Participatory Action Research Project	90	(10)
The Entry Process	92	(1)
Creating Participatory Structures	93	(3)
Writing the Dissertation	96	(2)
Emphasizing the Strengths of Action Research	98	(2)
Alice McIntyre: Initiating a Participatory Action Research Group	100	(5)
Publishing From PAR Dissertations	104	(1)
John Mark Dyke: Insider Action Research	105	(5)
First Phase of the Work	106	(1)
Iterative Cycles of Inquiry	107	(2)
The Dissertation Research---A Work in Progress	109	(1)
Conclusion	110	(2)
Action Research, Ethics, and the Institutional Review Board	112	(15)
Background to the Creation of the IRB	113	(4)
The Belmont Report	114	(3)
The Role of the IRB	117	(10)
IRBs and Action Research	117	(7)
The Charge for IRBs	124	(3)
Final Thoughts	127	(2)
Appendix	129	(2)
Notes	131	(2)
References	133	(14)
Index	147	(10)
About the Authors	157