Action research: A design with potential

Abstract

This paper discusses the main challenges posed by action research. These include issues related to definition, researcher role, collaboration, ethics and resources. We argue that action research has the potential simultaneously to contribute to the development of knowledge as well as to facilitate and evaluate change. The central tenets of action research are described and we use our research on the development of communities of practice as a means of illustrating these elements. We conclude that while the lack of precise definition may have led to suspicion about the robustness and scientific merit of action research, different and imaginative ways of employing it as an approach are proving that it is both a legitimate and highly contemporary research design for the exploration of health and social care issues and the development of practice.