Action research is a term used to describe a family of related approaches that integrate theory and action with a goal of addressing important organizational, community, and social issues together with those who experience them. It focuses on the creation of areas for collaborative learning and the design, enactment and evaluation of liberating actions through combining action and research, reflection and action in an ongoing cycle of cogenerative knowledge. While the roots of these methodologies go back to the 1940s, there has been a dramatic increase in research output and adoption in university curricula over the past decade. This is now an area of high popularity among academics and researchers from various fields—especially business and organization studies, education, health care, nursing, development studies, and social and community work. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research brings together the many strands of action research and addresses the interplay between these disciplines by presenting a state-of-the-art overview and comprehensive breakdown of the key tenets and methods of action research as well as detailing the work of key theorists and contributors to action research.

An encyclopedia about various methods of qualitative research.

Comprehensive overview of the theoretical, conceptual, and applied/practical presentations of action research as it is found and conducted solely in educational settings The Wiley Handbook of Action Research in Education is the first book to offer theoretical, conceptual, and applied/practical presentations of action research as it is found and conducted solely in educational settings. Covering primarily PK-12 educational settings, the book utilizes a cross-section of international authors and presentations to provide global perspectives on action research in education. Part I of The Wiley Handbook of Action Research in Education focuses on various foundational aspects and issues related to action research. Part II is centered on chapters that present theories and principles that help to guide the use of action research in educational contexts. Part III focuses on specific applications of educational action research in practice. Part IV provides an outlet for seven educational practitioners to share their experiences in conducting action research. Each of these authors also discusses the importance and value that action research has had on him or her, both professionally and personally. Discuss action research in PK-12, as well as in higher education settings The first book to focus on the importance and application of action research exclusively in educational settings Offers world perspectives on action research in education Written by a team of international scholars The Wiley Handbook of Action Research in Education is an excellent book for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars studying and/or researching educational action research.

Concise and unintimidating, the fifth edition of this bestselling book is the only pragmatic, quick-start guide to the main theories, issues, and approaches to insider action research. With an encouraging and approachable tone, David is the perfect mentor for anyone conducting action research in their own organization. Calming nerves at the same time as building confidence, he helps readers devise an appropriate research design that anticipates possible challenges and fits within the limits of their environments. A complete do-it-yourself toolkit for every step of the action research process, this edition is outfitted with: Real-world student and professional case studies Author video tips Annotated templates Progress checklists Journal articles, weblinks, and other further reading. To the point without losing clarity or thoroughness, this book is the hands-on manual for all the need-to-know facts about understanding and undertaking insider action research.

Practical and down-to-earth, the second edition of Action Research in Teaching and Learning is an ideal introduction to the subject, offering a distinctive blend of the theoretical and the practical, grounded firmly in the global higher education landscape. Written in an accessible style to build confidence, it provides easily adaptable, practical frameworks, guidelines and advice on research practice within a higher education context. The reader is guided through each stage of the action research process, from engaging with the critical theory, to the practical applications with the ultimate goal of providing a research study which is publishable. Supplemented by useful pedagogical research tools and exemplars of both qualitative and quantitative action research studies, this new edition features chapters engaging with teaching excellence and analysing qualitative and quantitative research, additions to the resources section and a new preface focusing more explicitly on the ever-growing number of part-time academics. Action Research in Teaching and Learning combines a theoretical understanding of the scholarly literature with practical applications and is an essential, critical read for any individual teaching or undertaking action research.

In an era of curricular changes and experiments and high-stakes testing, educational measurement and evaluation is more important than ever. In addition to expected entries covering the basics of traditional theories and methods, other entries discuss important sociopolitical issues and trends influencing the future of that research and practice. Textbooks, handbooks, monographs and other publications focus on various aspects of educational research, measurement and evaluation, but to date, there exists no major reference guide for students new to the field. This comprehensive work fills that gap, covering traditional areas while pointing the way to future developments. Features: Nearly 700 signed entries are contained in an authoritative work spanning four volumes and available in choice of electronic and/or print formats. Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping entries thematically to help students interested in a specific aspect of education research, measurement, and evaluation to more easily locate directly related entries. (For instance, sample themes include Data, Evaluation, Measurement Concepts & Issues, Research, Sociopolitical Issues, Standards.) Back matter includes a Chronology of the development of the field; a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and associations; and a detailed Index. Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross References to related entries. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross References will combine to provide robust search-and-browse in the e-version.

This book addresses the growing demand for collaborative and reflexive scholarly engagement in the Arctic directed at providing relevant insights to tackle local challenges of arctic communities. It examines how arctic research can come to matter in new ways by combining methods and engagement in the field of inquiry in new and meaningful ways. Research informs decisions affecting the futures of arctic communities. Due to its ability to include local concerns and practices, collaborative research could play a greater role in this process. By way of example of how to bring new voices to the fore in research, this edited collection presents experiences of researchers active in collaborative arctic research. It draws multidisciplinary perspectives from a broad range of academics in the fields such as law and medicine over tourism and business studies, planning and development, cultural studies, ethnology and anthropology. It also shares personal experiences of working in Greenland and with Greenlanders, whether communities, businesses and entrepreneurs, public officials and planners, patients or students. Offering useful insights into the current problems of Greenland representative of the arctic region, this book will be beneficial for researchers and scientists involved in arctic research.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design maps out how one makes decisions about research design, interprets data, and draws valid inferences, undertakes research projects in an ethical manner, and evaluates experimental design strategies and results. From A-to-Z, this four-volume work covers the spectrum of research design strategies and topics including, among other things: fundamental research design principles, ethics in the research process, quantitative versus qualitative and mixed-method designs, completely randomized designs, multiple comparison tests, diagnosing agreement between data and models, fundamental assumptions in analysis of variance, factorial treatment designs, complete and incomplete block designs, Latin square and related designs, hierarchical designs, response surface designs, split-plot designs, repeated measures designs, crossover designs, analysis of covariance, statistical software packages, and much more. Research design, with its statistical underpinnings, can be especially daunting for students and novice researchers. At its heart, research design might be described simply as a formalized approach toward problem solving, thinking, and acquiring knowledge, the success of which depends upon clearly defined objectives and appropriate choice of statistical design and analysis to meet those objectives. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design will assist students and researchers with their work while providing vital information on research strategies.

This thesis studies the impact of teaching intelligent design to evangelical students. Science is often presented as a reason why some find sharing their faith difficult in a secular culture: teaching the science of intelligent design enables Christians to initiate conversations and overcome obstacles with those whose worldview is more Darwinian and materialist. The professional doctoral research employs both action research and practical theology. Lin Norton's pedagogical action research provides the structure for the qualitative research and thematic analysis, showing that students find learning about intelligent design empowering for evangelism. Richard Osmer's model of practical theology enables an interdisciplinary reflection on how intelligent design challenges Western secular culture. Intelligent design is seen as the most integrative of all the different ways of relating science and theology. Theologically, teaching intelligent design is like teaching a modern parable to contemporary society and, just like the Gospel parables, some respond with faith and some reject it. Evangelical students find learning about it both liberating and empowering in their ability to share their faith more confidently with others, especially in schools and youth groups.

Communication research is evolving and changing in a world of online journals, open-access, and new ways of obtaining data and conducting experiments via the Internet. Although there are generic encyclopedias describing basic social science research methodologies in general, until now there has been no comprehensive A-to-Z reference work exploring methods specific to communication and media studies. Our entries, authored by key figures in the field, focus on special considerations when applied specifically to communication research, accompanied by engaging examples from the literature of communication, journalism, and media studies. Entries cover every step of the research process, from the creative development of research topics and questions to literature reviews, selection of best methods (whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) for analyzing research results and publishing research findings, whether in traditional media or via new media outlets. In addition to expected entries covering the basics of theories and methods traditionally used in communication research, other entries discuss important trends influencing the future of that research, including contemporary practical issues students will face in communication professions, the influences of globalization on research, use of new recording technologies in fieldwork, and the challenges and opportunities related to studying online multi-media environments. Email, texting, cellphone video, and blogging are shown not only as topics of research but also as means of collecting and analyzing data. Still other entries delve into considerations of accountability, copyright, confidentiality, data ownership and security, privacy, and other aspects of conducting an ethical research program. Features: 652 signed entries are contained in an authoritative work spanning four volumes available in choice of electronic or print formats. Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping entries thematically to help students interested in a specific aspect of communication research to more easily locate directly related entries. Back matter includes a Chronology of the development of the field of communication research; a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and associations; a Glossary introducing the terminology of the field; and a detailed Index. Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross-References to related entries to guide students further in their research journeys. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross-References combine to provide robust search-and-browse in the e-version.