It can be used to address issues as varied as health concerns and environmental problems, and evaluate the impact of things like engineering techniques and business methods. Action Research can have as its unit of analysis the individual, the small group, and even the entire organization. It can be conducted in ways that are aligned with most epistemologies, including the positivist, interpretivist, and critical epistemologies. Action Research can be used in many general fields of inquiry such as bilingual education, clinical psychology, sociology, and information systems. To say that the range of areas and ways in which Action Research can be conducted is vast is an understatement. There Action Research was used as a research method to both understand and treat socio-psychological disorders associated with war-related experiences. In England, Action Research's origins are not tied to a particular individual, but to an institution: the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London. Lewin was a German-born social psychologist whom many see as the 'father' of Action Research. In the U.S.A., Action Research emerged from the work of Kurt Lewin on a variety of topics, ranging from child welfare to group dynamics. 33.1 Action researchĪccording to most accounts, Action Research originated independently in the U.S.A. One may design a unique technology, but the technology will only become useful when it is employed in practice Action Research is all about practice.

The emphasis of my discussion in this encyclopedia entry is on the empirical evaluation modality, because that is the modality that is the most closely related to Action Research.

The emphasis may be on technology design, empirical evaluation of the effects of one ore more technologies, or both. The organization can be an insurance company, a church, a distributed film-editing organization, or an online mutual support community of diabetics. In technology-related inquiry, an Action Research study could entail the researcher introducing a new technology in an organization, and at the same time studying the effects of the technology in that organization. In Action Research the researcher typically tries to provide a service to a research 'client', often an organization, and at the same time add to the body of knowledge in a particular domain. More broadly, Action Research is a generic name used to refer to a set of research approaches that share a few common characteristics. When applied in the context of technology, Action Research is the study of how technology is applied in the real world and the practical consequences of technology-enabled action. Action Research ( AR) is all about action and, at the same time, it is also rigorous research.

No technological development has any value without action. It is technology that has made Homo sapiens such a successful species, and it is the actions enabled by technology that will ensure that we continue to be successful à or meet our doom. Technology and action are two elements that define what it is to be human.

A bumpy road to action research