Planing

One of important initial stages of an action research study is to identify all the stakeholders. It is
essential to bring as many of the stakeholders forward for initial conversations about the existing
problem as possible. All who may be affectted in any way by the problem or the desired change need
to be part of the early conversations

Once the stakeholders are identified, it is important to determine how the investigation will procced.
Greenwood and levin (1998) offer a model of action research that they call the cogenerative action
research model. In the description of the model, greenwood and levin recommend that
communication arenas be develoved. Communication arenas are spaces where participants and
researcher can come together for mutual learning. Developing these spaces will be one of the most
important aspects of engaging all the stakeholder. “ arenas must be designed to match the needs of
the issue”. Therefore, there may be need for large group , small group , and one-on-one meetings.
There may be a need for specific arenas for explicit purposes such as information sharing or team
building. There also will be the need to develop spaces for reflection. Ground rules for participation
will be essential. It is also important to work together to clearly describe how the feedback loop for
communication will work. As an example , the researcher or a member of the group may record
minutes ;however, in what forum will there be the opportunity to discuss the interpretation of what
was recorded?.

In addition to deciding in what space communication will occur, it is also important to decide how
information will be collected . will interviews , observations, focus groups, and printed material
comprise the major data collection methods or will survey and questionnaires be the major
strategies?this decision must be a decision made by all members of the research team. It will be the
reponsibility of the researchers to bring as much information as possible forward so that the
members of the team who are not skilled in the strategies for data collection or the research process
are provided with the opportunity to learn about the various data collection strategies and the
method so they can make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Greenwood and levin(1998) describe the value of reflection throughout the action research process
for all those involved. One of the ways to encourages reflection is to select journaling or keeping a
diary as one of the data collection strategies. Using a self reflective mechanism can help sort out the
issues for all concerned.

Different from other qualitative methods, the participants in an action research study are not separate
from the researcher, those who are the stakeholders are the ones who can most effectively inform
the study. However, there will be times when data need to be collected to reflect the experience of
members of affected groups who are not intimately involved with the study . for example, using the
single mother scenario presented earlier, all mothers with the problem may not be part of the
research team , but from time to time, it will be essential to collect information from as many mothers
experiencing the problem as possible. In this case, the sample for focused data collection will be
purposive. Depending on which data collection strategies are used , a decision will need to be made
regarding who will conduct the interviews, do the observations, or collect survey or questionnaire
data. It is wise to select the researcher from those who have no direct connection to those from whom
data are being collected. Using an outsider to collect these data provides a potentially more open-
minded and detached view of the situation.

Jenk(1999) recommends that at least three strategies of data collection be utilized to assure that
there is cross-validation of information all strategies will not need to be identitified before the study
begins. Since the question may not be clearly defined, data collection strategies not orriginally
identified may need to be added because of evolving data. For instance, using the situation described
earlier of the single mothers with transportation issues, a survey may have been selected as one of
the data collection strategies . however, as the study progresses, it is discovered that there is
information that the survey is not capturing, fokus gruop interviews then may be recommended.

The preparations that have been described represent the planning phase of the action research study.
Stringer(1999) calls this developmental phase”setting the stage”. Regardless of what name is given to
the initial planing phase, all participants need to agree on how best to proceed.

Once the decisions are made regarding how best to collect data, data collection should commence. As
stated earlier, the process of planing, data collection , and data analysis does not proceed in a linear
manner. The process is dynamic and as such needs to respond to the changing needs off all involved

Data treatment and analysis

As data are collected, they will be analyzed using the appropriate methodology for the strategy
selected. For instance, if interviews were used , analysis can proceed using the constant comparative
method. Jenk (1999) states that this method is useful in analysis of action research data. For a
complete description of the constant comparative method, the reader is directed to chapter 7.

The analysis phase of the study should include all stakeholders. Interpretations and explanations
cannot be offered unles the context is fully understood. The participants in the study will be the
individuals who can most accurately reflect the context. Also, by doing analysis as a joint activity, the
entire research team can bring its perspectives to the discussion, providing the opportunity for
dialogue and debate about the findings and their respective meaning

The researcher will have primary responsibility for leading the data analysis phase based on
knowledge of the process and experience . however, it will be the team that will draw the final
conclusions