What is the difference between action research and consulting, or action research and other professional practice? Am I already doing action research?
It is true that many practitioners, on first hearing about action research, reply: “I am already doing that.” It is true that action research and some forms of practice are in some ways similar. Both are often directed towards the achievement of change. Both are qualitative and often participative. Both tend to be flexible and cyclic. In both instances, there is a desire to base planned changes in the situation on understanding, and to derive that understanding from evidence. Because of these and other similarities, less formal approaches to action research may be very similar to some forms of practice. However, most forms of action research are more deliberate in their pursuit of understanding. Most importantly, frequent critical reflection is a formal and central part of most action research. Most practice is much less reflective than action research. Most practice, if it does use reflection, is neither as deliberate nor as critical in its use. There are other processes which do use
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