Jounml of Advanced Nurstng, 1993,18, 1066-1072

New paradigm research in practice: the

trials and tribulations of action research
Julienne E Meyer MSc BSc RGN Cert Ed RNT
Lecturer, Department of Nursing Studies, King's College London, Comwall House Annex,
Waterloo Road, London SEl 8TX, England

Accepted for publicahon 16 November 1992

MEYER J E (1993) Journal of Advanced Nurstng 1 8 , 1 0 6 6 - 1 0 7 2

New paradigm research in practice: the trials and tribulations of action
research
This methodological paper reflects on the way in which nursing research has
developed along similar lines to research m education It focuses on the
emergence of action research as an example of collaborative research withm the
practice disciplme of nursmg Action research is placed in the framework of new
paradigm research and questions concenung its saentific ment are addressed
along with its idealistic value to nursing Drawmg on issues raised dunng the
collection of data for a PhD study which examined a changmg ward culture,
I hope to share some methodological concems about the use of action research
as a means of changmg practice

INTRODUCTION Commissioner for Indian Affairs 1933-1945 was another

In t b s action research study I worked together with a mdependent proponent of action researdi Lewin felt that
multi-disapbnary team on a general medical ward m a the research needed for social practice should be a form of
London teadung hospital for a penod of 1 year, m an social management or soaal engmeenng
attempt to foster a change m prachce, wbch would I" his seminal paper, Lewm (1946) placed much empha-
maease mvolvement m care by patients and theu- fanuly sis on the need for practical jomt studies between social
and fnends with a view to better preparahon for discharge saenhsts and prachhoners, aimed towards soaal change
T b s case study used a mulh-method approach to data through a problem solving approach Lewm identified a
eolleehon and explored the challenges encountered by framework for action research wbch included a four stage
partiapants as they attempted to move away from a pro- spu-al of steps — l e planning, actmg, observmg and
fessionally dominated, task-onented culture to a more reflectmg — and t b s framework can be seen as a basis for
pahent-centred culture, m wbch lay partiapahon m care many of the more modem definitions of achon research
could be faabtated (Carr & Kemmis 1986, Qark 1972, Ebbutt 1985, Elliott
However, t b s paper concentrates mamly on issues 1991)
raised m the process of doing the research and raises Action research was and contmues to be used m many
queshons about adion researdi that do not appear to different disciplmes (Kmgsley 1985, Rapoport 1970), but
have previously been addressed m the nursmg bterature the development of action research m educahon is of par-
(statement based on percephon by author) hcular mterest to nurses owmg to the parallels that can be
drawn with nursmg research It would appear that formal
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF evaluahon researdi m education did not exist before the
A C T I O N RESEARCH Second World War and it was a concem over the lack of
It IS often daimed that the tenn achon research was first saenhsts that led to a doser scrutmy of educahonal
used by a social psychologist named Kurt Lewm m prachces (Lacey & Lawton 1981) Accordmg to Lacey &
1946 However, Corey (1953) suggests that Colber, Lawton, researchers m educahon naturally tumed to the

1066

disapbne of behavioural psychology and borrowed its
posihvist notions of saence to develop their research
methodologies m much the same way that early nurse
researchers copied the expenmental approaches of
medicme
However, theonsts m both disaplmes were quick to
realize the limitahons of the empinast fradihon in dealmg
with human beings witbn complex organizahons and, to
some extent, rejeded uhbzation of quantitahve approaches
with their unrealistic reliance on objectivity and confrol of
vanables m favour of the more qualitahve approaches of
the social saences These qualitative methodologies which
denve from the 'interpretive' fradition of soaal enquiry
were based on soaal phenomenology and replaced the
saentific notions of explanation, predichon and control
with the mterprehve nohons of understanding, meaning
and achon (Carr & Kemmis 1986)
Dunng the 1960/1970s m education (Parlett & Hamilton
1972) and the 1980/1990s m nursmg (Field & Morse 1985),
qualitahve research proliferated and drew heavily on the
'grounded theory' approadi of Glaser & Strauss (1967)
However frusfration with these methods arose both within
educahon and nursmg which led to a renewed interest m
adion research
At this time, achon research had moved on from the
earlier ideas of Lewm (1946) and more modem defirutions
place it very much m the new paradigm fradihon of col-
laborahve research wbch itself emerged through a rejec-
hon of the empinast and lnterprehvist notions of saence
(Reason & Rowan 1981)
Accordmg to Reason (1988) new paradigm research is
concemed with domg research wtth and for people rather
than on people It is not freated as a neufral, value-free
process but as a supporhng and queshonmg imtiahve It
represents a systemahc quest for understandmg which as
cin action science mvolves leammg tbough nsk tabng
McNiff (1988) fraces the development of adion research
m educahon and shows how it has moved on from Lewm's
funchonabst approach, through an mterprehve fradition
led by Stenhouse (1975) and mto new paradigm perspec-
hve where the current emphasis is placed on the prac-
htioner as researcher Whereas the more fradihonal
approaches often rebed on extemal researchers actmg
as consultants in prescnbmg prachce, more modem
approadies encourage prachhoners to act as researchers by
systemahc reflechon on their everyday prachce These
ideas are mcorporated m the definition of achon research
by Carr & Kemmis (1986)
AdiOTi research is a form of self-reflechve enquiry undertaken
by participants m soaal situations m order to improve the
Achon research
rationality and jushce of their own pradices, their understand-
mg of those pradices, and the situations m wbch those
practices are camed out
Similarly the changes in conceptual understandmg
can be fraced m nursmg action research studies Towell &
Hames (1978) who pursued achon research on change m a
psyduatnc hospital drew heavily on the work of Kurt
Lewm through his association with the Tavistock Inshtute,
and Lathlean & Farrush (1984) might be descnbed as
havmg taken an mterprehve approach in their evaluahon of
a ward sister development project, whereas current action
researchers mvolved m evaluatmg the infroduction of pn-
mary nursmg (Bateup 1990, Binrue & Titchen 1990) daim
to collaborate more with participants m self-reflective
enquiry As withm education there is a current emphasis on
reflection-m-achon m nursmg m order to produce different
professional knowledge, more appropnate to practice
(Schon 1983) Achon research is seen as a means of system-
atically developmg tbs knowledge in order that it can be
shared with practitioners
Scientific merits of action research
Throughout the last 50 years action research has enjoyed
vanous levels of acceptability and on occasions has been
cnhcized as not bemg saentific and thus not worthy of the
label of 'research' The next part of the paper will address
this issue before going on to look at the value of tbs type
of researdi to a prachce disapbne Having argued the need
for achon researdi m nursmg, I shall then highlight some of
the practical issues and problems expenenced when carry-
mg out tb s type of research based on my own expenence
These emphasize the need to exerase caution when usmg
new paradigm research
Achon researdi as part of new paradigm research has
links with femirust scholarship (Callaway 1981) It tends to
rely more heavily on the sblls of the enquirer, with the
approadi being more personal and interpersonal than
methodological New paradigm research shows awareness
and respect for the integnty of mdividuals and represents a
pblosopbcal approach to researdi based on a humanishc
view of nature It has also been linked with Habermas's
cntical soaal saence (Carr & Kemmis 1986) and as such
rejeds posihvistic nohons of rationabty, objechvity
and tmth Cntical soaal saence emphasizes the need for
self-reflection amongst prachtioners and thus its theory
development depends on the meanmgs and mterpretahons
of parhapants Its pradices are based on democratic par-
hapahon and its fundamental concem is with ldentifymg
and exposing those aspeds of the soaal order over wbch
1067
JE Meyer
partiapants have no control It seeks to enable prac-
hhoners to overcome their problems and eliminate their
frustrations and as such is viewed as bemg political (Carr &
Kemmis 1986)
In a male-dominated soaety with a bstoncal tradihon of
posihvist saence, it is not surpnsmg that this type of
researdi is frequently brought mto queshon as being
unsaentific and more concemed with professional and per-
sonal development than research-based prachce Susman &
Evered (1978) address this issue m a dassic paper entitled
'An assessment of the saenhfic ments of action research'
They begin by bghlightmg the defiaenaes of posihvist
saence and go on to show that achons and their conse-
quences cannot be explained by the posihvist cntena of
saentific explanation Tbe authors suggest that action
research can be legitimized as saence by locatmg its foun-
dahons in philosophical theones wbch differ from those
used to legitimize posihvist saence
Susman & Evered (1978) draw on philosophical
approaches such as praxis (art of acting upon tbe condihons
one faces m order to change them), hemieneuhcs (art of
interpreting languages, culture and history), existentialism
(asserts the importance of human choice and values), prag-
matiasm (doctnne that estimates any assertion solely by its
practical beanng upon human mterests), prcKess pbl-
osopbes (asserts no two actions are the same on account
of constant change) and phenomenology (insists on the
pnmacy of the immediate subjective expenence as the basis
for knowledge) to explam their case
Finally, Susman & Evered (1978) go on to explain the
contnbuhon of action researcb to growth of knowledge
through the development of 'practics' The latter concen-
trate on 'knowmg how' rather than 'knowmg that' and
tbe authors argue that t b s type of knowledge is rarely
gamed through traditional saenhfic methods Rather than
generabzmg prescnphvely about the wider populahon,
t b s type of research generates pnnaples and guides for
dealmg with different situations The reader of m-depth
case studies is left to deade their relevance to themselves m
their own situahon Su«nan & Evered bebeve tbat pradics
has far greater potential than posihvist saence for generat-
mg knowledge and understanciing and for managmg affairs
m a prachce disaplme
McNiff (1988) addresses the claim that achon researdi
IS no more than personal/professional development by
suggeshng tbat it is tbe manner m wbch the pradice is
camed out tbat makes it research She argues that by
makmg prachhoners more aware and cnhcal of their prac-
tice and open to a process of change and improvement,
they then start to develop theones and rahonales for their
prachce wbch allow tbem to give reasoned justificahcm for
1068
their public daims to professional knowledge The wnter
goes on to suggest tbat it is this systematic enquiry made
public wbch distinguishes the achvity as research
Schon (1983) ldenhfied a cnsis m professional knowl-
edge, suggestmg that in some professions, awareness of
uncertamty, complexity, mstability, umqueness and value
conflict has led to the emergence of professional pluralism
The emergence of tbese dififerent perspechves has forced
professionals to be less confident m relymg on the
dominant epistemology of prachce, namely techmcal
rationabty, and Schon argues the need to move towards a
different epistemology, namely reflection-m-achon
It would appear that the findmgs from more traditional
modes of research are bemg queshoned as relevant for
prachce In nursing. Greenwood (1984) queshoned the
relevance of past nursing research findmgs to practice and
urged researchers to consider using more action research
In tbs way, research findings would be more accessible to
practitioners and more relevant to the realities of their
everyday work Given that research is not widely read by
nurses (Hunt 1981, Roper 1977, Smith 1979), Greenwood
argued that only then would improvement m practice be
possible through research
From a humanistic perspective, the movement towards
more collaborative researcii is desirable and may mdeed
lead to a different and more wortbwhile type of knowl-
edge However, tb s type of research is by no means easy
and it sbould be noted that nursing achon research studies
m the past have not tended to address the prachcal issues
and dilemmas that make this type of work problemahc
A notable exception is Webb (1989), whose work
dearly and sensihvely reflects upon her personsd expen-
ences of carrying out adion research, offenng an honest
portrayal of some of the methodological dilemmas I hope
to share some of my expenences m this paper and thus add
to t b s body of practical knowledge
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN ACTION
RESEARCH
Tbe achon researcb study I was engaged m was concemed
with lay partiapation m care which, for the purposes of t b s
study, meant the mvolvement of pahents and their family/
fiiends m hospital care Given the difficulhes of actually
ldentifymg a settmg in wbch lay parhapation m care
might be occumng, I deackd to attempt creahon of an
environment conduave to lay parhapahon m care, through
an achon research approach exammmg the issues and prob-
lems surrounding this fi'om the dififerent partiapants' per-
spechve I wanted to engage m a multi-disaplmary study.
 Actton research

believmg that health care could not be divided neatly mto
nursmg, medical and paramedical aspects
For the mitiative to he meanmgful, I therefore needed to
find a ward where all the members of the multi-disaplinary
team were mterested m lay partiapation m canng for their
pahents and were wilbng for me to work with them on a
daily basis for a penod of 1 year as a researcher/faabtator
of change I deaded to go back to a hospital where I was
known in order that the participants could have some
knowledge of me wblst selechng whether to work with me
in the study I also wanted to be accepted as an 'msider'
rather than as an 'outsider', given the collaborative nature
of the action research process
The process of negohatmg access to a ward was long
and arduous It took 62 mterviews over a penod of 6
months to estabbsh the self-selection of a suitable ward and
even then I am not convmced about the etbcs of t b s
selection owmg to concems about the bnuts of informed
consent
not leave the rest of the team wishmg to call a halt to the
project
Where then does the researcher's loyalty be? Should it
be with vulnerable non-co-operahve mdividual(s) or with
the remamder of the team who have mvested considerable
personal time and energy into the project and do not wish
to see their efforts come to naught? Change is potenhally
threatemng and perhaps it is msuffiaent to get people's
agreements to parhapate m an action research study with-
out first explormg m more detail ways forward m the cases
of confbct or reluctance to change Time should also be
spent considenng the possibibty of unknown issues wbch
may emerge fiom withm the team and how t b s might
affect each player
Achon research can be tbeatenmg because of the
suggested changes that emerge and also because of the
nature of the collaborative relationsbp between researcher
and partiapant, as will be discussed below

Potentially threatening nature of a collaborative

Limits of informed consent in action research
relationship between researcher and participants
The issue here for me concems the extent to wbch partia-
pants can truly give informed consent, when the nature of CoUaborahon implies equality of relahonsbp between
the proposed change is unknown and determmed by an researcher and pjirtiapant wbch theoretically is not present
emergmg reality Consent really centres around the partia- m other forms of research Empincal research is concemed
pants' willingness to take part in the project ideas and with prediction and control and requires the researcher to
acceptance of the researcher as a facibtator of change keep a distance from subjects so as not to contammate
The proposals for change come from withm the group of fmdmgs These are owned and mterpreted by the
participants and as such is a step mto the unknown for researcher and only shared as a fimshed product Withm
mdividual players the mterpretive tradition of social saence, concem is
Informed consent is therefore not really possible and more with meanmg and understanding, the researcher
once the project is under way it is difficult for individuals to takes account of the actor's perspective but still mamtams
withdraw as they are part of a group committed to workmg control, judging what is said agamst the researcher's own
together for change In other types of research mdividuals framework of reference Collaborative approaches assume
are able to refuse partiapahon without feelmg under undue that research is done wtth and for people rather than on
pressure to conform A questionnaire can t>e ignored or an people, but I would question to what extent t b s is possible
mterview cancelled In a parhapant observahon study m reality
not dependent on changmg prachce, the players can act In my study I had negohated access to the ward on the
in whatever way they choose without feeling that their basis that members of the multi-disapbnary team were
behaviour is necessanly affechng others wilbng to work with me as a researcher/faabtator m creat-
In action research, the change is usually dependent on mg change that would faabtate lay participation m care I
the team pullmg together and as such places mdividuals in a specified that I did not want to impose my ideas but to help
vulnerable posihon of forced co-operahon with their col- them to identify the changes they wished to make and then
leagues T b s IS dearly at odds with the sentiment of action facilitate the process of change I negohated that if they
research wbch relies on willing and voluntary collabor- became uncomfortable with my presence at any stage I
ation One might glibly say that the way around t b s prob- would offer to withdraw I promised to share the data
lem IS for the researcher/faabtator to withdraw durmg tboughout the study and said that I would not publish any
the study if bs/her presoice becomes unwelcome or the findmgs that they did not wish to share with others In tbs
project ideas are not woricmg However, t b s is a Utopian way I hoped to redress the unequal balance of power m the
concept as the discomfort of one or a few mdividufds may researcher-partiapant relahonsbp I would argtx, however.

1069
JE Meyer
that it IS not possible to redress this power relahonship m
reality
As a parhapant observer working on the ward, I foimd
myself ever ready to bsten to people's stones m case they
had sometbng relevant to say on the subjed of lay partia-
pahon in care I spent much of my hme sellmg myself as a
faabtator, givmg people time and support m whatever
way was needed By actmg as an msider, 1 showed that I
had understandmg and expertise m their area of work and
was anxious to gam aedibibty as a prachtioner as well as a
researcher
In essence I became everybody's best fnend However,
as Webb (1989) found m her study, there were problems
with commurucahon on the ward and the inevitable per-
sonabty dashes and t b s placed me m the mvidious posihon
of reapient of much personal knowledge However neufral
one tnes to be m this situahon, one cannot avoid the fad
that t b s type of mformahon gives you power and as such is
tbeaterung to others
The researcher also has the power of not bemg a full
member of staff and knows that whatever change occurs it
will not permanently afifed them The researcher is safe
m the knowledge that, whatever happens, data will be
gathered and the research report will be wntten (subjed, of
course, to the parhapants' approval but it is unlikely that
they will withdraw t b s from a fnend!)
The researcher is also powerful by bemg seen as an
academic expert belonging to another world with which
not all partiapants will be familiar This lack of knowledge
on the partiapants' part means that they may not have a
tme understandmg of the data b>emg gathered (despite
one's willingness to share it') and agam tbs places the
parhapant m a AOilnerable posihon m relation to the
researcher T b s vulnerability is compounded by the fact
that the researcher is likely to have gamed wider approval
for the study to take place witbn the orgamzahon and t b s
fador IS potentially threatenmg for any parhapant wisbng
to withdraw
It IS issues bke these that make one susped that despite
the mtenhon to offer an egalitanan relahonsbp with par-
hapants, these new paradigm methods place the subjeds
at far more nsk of exploitahon, betrayal and abandonment
than more positivist research Stacey (1988) makes the
same pomt when she questions whether there can ever be a
femmist ethnography She wntes.
I find myself wondermg whether the appearance of greater
resped for and equality with researdi subjeds in Hie etfmo-
grapbc approach masks a deeper, more dangerous form of
exploitahon preasely t)ecause ethnographic researdi
depends on human rdahonsbp, oig^ement, and attadunent.
1070
it places research subjeds at grave nsk of marupulahon and
betrayal by the ethnographer
Talking culture
In my own research the democratic processes gave nse to a
talbng culture that had previously not existed t)efore and
the nurse m charge found this to be a particular challenge
As one parhapant said of the nurse m charge
and this negativism all the time She's finghtened that
someone is going to usurp her, she wants the power and she's
fhghtened of new ideas I'm sure that's w4iy she is so
negative about it Because otherwise I'd have thought she'd
receive it with open arms, anytbng that's construchve is
worth it No one's cnhazmg her, it's not a personal assault at
all, but her athtude is just afiedmg everyone It could be just
such a good ward because you get good matenal to teach on
and mterestmg pahents and ruce staff
From her perspechve, she had not been able to antiapate
the bnd of changes that the rest of the mulh-disaplinary
team would want to make in order to mfroduce lay partia-
pahon m care The fad that the researcher was present
asbng for suggeshons and feedmg back the issues m an
open and honest way thus had a profound effed on the
group dynamics It made everyone re-examme their roles
and responsibibties
For some members of the team this was an exfronely
painful expenence after many years of less-questioned
prachce It made me queshon whether I had the nght to be
the catalyst of such unwelcome unrest Even ofifenng to
withdraw did not solve the problem most parhapants
wanted the projed to contmue and the nursing manage-
ment insisted that the nurse m charge either co-operated or
looked for another job
Furthermore, my academic supervisor insisted that this
was a unique opportunity to gather nch and meanmgful
data It was not easy to work m this environment, espeaally
when I found myself counseUmg and supporhng the nurse-
m-charge who was possibly forced mto lookmg for a new
career diredion as a dired result of the projed Webb
(1989) discusses how there is a need for emohonal support
for the achon researcher m the form of a confidant and
mentor I bebeve this is because the researcher is expeded
to form close and speaal relahonsbps witii ttie parhapants
m a collat)orahve mquiry and is under enormous pressure
I would advocate the need for emotional support and
reiterate that this does not have to be the research super-
visor The essenhai issue is that the emohonal support
for the researdier ^ o u l d be recognized as legitimate and
consideration given to the availabibty of someone to fiilfil
 Achon research

this role The achon researcher is also concemed with the needs to constantly renegotiate his/her facibtatmg role
difficulhes in mamtammg anonymity and confidentiabty For me this was made harder by an ever-transient work-
force Dunng the penod of the study 85 new staff members
ETHICAL DILEMMAS ASSOCIATED WITH amved and 89 left, represenhng 174 disruphons to the
ANONYMITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY ward over the penod of a year' I question whether it is
Action research is often wntten as case studies and as such really possible to have true collaboration when workmg
confidentiality and anonymity are potential problems to be with a team of different people, who may wish to engage m
explored with partiapants In a collaborahve enquiry the the research at different levels thus affectmg the possible
partiapants are supposed to own the findmgs wbch are outcome of the mnovahon for others As one partiapant
constantly fed back to them by the researdier In my study, commented
partiapants had transcnpts given to them after mterview
and were mvited to change any asped that they did not It's talked about every week, it's such a shame it's not followed
feel comfortable shanng with others Other findings were up 1 don't really see anythmg bemg done I've spoken to a few
patients about it I mean I feel ashamed, I would bave liked to
discussed at weekly mulh-disciplmary meetmgs where
do more, I sbould have done more, I could have done more,
achon was planned and reviewed In situahons where I felt
you know with pahents, I mean I've spoken to a few but I
the participants might be particularly vulnerable, I dis- should bave taken it a bit agam it's that thing, you're only
cussed shanng the chapters of the thesis as it was wntten, here for 3 months you know and it would be mce if it was a
but possibly owmg to the degree of trust estabbshed, or to continuing thmg — something you could follow up yourself
complete lack of desire to have further contact with the when you move on to the next job
study, this was not taken up by any of the partiapants
However, whilst the researcher can assure partiapants The prachcal issue for me was gammg collaboration
that no one will be named m the thesis, the researcher from a number of people passing through the ward who
cannot control what participants say to each other m the were under an obligation to support the innovation
field and, as such, vulnerability of individuals may become because their immediate manager had agreed m pnnciple
an issue to the projed What began as a 'bottom up approach'
Anonymity and confidentiality are also compromised rapidly became 'top down' wbch was contrary to the ideals
by the fad that the researcher can easily be assoaated with of action researdi Finally, I would bke to consider another
havmg worked on a particular ward durmg data collection possible dilemma for the collaborahve researcher, namely
and therefore many people withm the organizahon readmg the dif&culty of combming adion research with the
the finished thesis are bkely to be able to idenhfy key academic pursuit of a higher degree
players This makes wnhng up of the research parhcularly
difficult As the nurse m charge said
Difficulty of combining action research with the
It IS like someone coming into your flat and rearrangmg the academic pursuit of a higher degree
furmture it's bke having to do your dirty washmg m pubbc
The first pomt I would wish to make here is that action
Whilst it IS possible to take some measures to limit the research does not give you any easy nde and there may be
potential damage of t b s type of research, the real issue for quicker ways of gaimng a PhD Workmg for a bgher degree
me has been whether it is immoral to make partiapants IS at times extremely isolatmg and one can be nddled with
vulnerable to the unknown m such a public manner and call self-doubts No research follows a straight path but most
it research' Achon research has its own ethical issues but research Ccm be planned m advance and the researcher has
also some prachcal dilemmas of concem to the researcher some sense of direction and purpose With action research,
In the last part of this paper, I would like to address two the researcher can only plan the approach in advance emd
of these difficulties firstly, the difficulty of changmg prac- has to leam to develop methods and strategies m the field
hce with an ever-changing workforce and, secondly, the Energies are taken up not only with data colledion but
difficulty of combinmg achon research with the academic also with facibtatmg change It is an exhaushng process
pursuit of a bgher degree and, once started, because there is no natural end, can be
difficult to withdraw from Havmg spent 6 months gammg
Difficulties of changing practice with an research access, and havmg worked on the ward every day
ever-changing workforce for a year, it took a further 6 months before I felt able to
In collaborative research it is essenhal that partiapants relmqmsh contad T b s was then only made possible
volunteer for the proposed change and the researcher because one of the parhapants had gamed momes to

1071
JE Meyer
continue the evaluahon and later gained a Department of
Health PhD studentship to further the mvestigahon mto
lay parttapahon m care One year seemed sucb a small
amount of time m wbch to acbeve any mearungful change
and it seemed mappropnate to withdraw fi-om the field
until support was no longer needed
Another demand on time and skiU was made by tbe
tnangiilahon of data wbch mduded copious daily field
notes, qualitahve mterview transcnpts and vanous other
more structured quanhtative measures wbcii required
computenzed statistical analysis It is not uncommon for
those engaged in collaborative researcb to use mixed
methods, but tbe demands t b s places on the researcher
should not be underestimated
Anotber issue of combimng achon research with the
academic pursuit of a higher degree is that there are not
many academics wbo share the underlymg philosophies
and appreaate the value of collaborahve research T b s can
make the wnhng-up phase difficult when trying to share a
different type of knowledge through the constraints of a
tradihonal academic thesis
CONCLUSION
In t b s paper I have tned to focus on the emergence of
action research as an example of collaborahve research
witbn the practice cbsaplme of nursmg I have attempted
to bghbght the saenhfic ments of action research m
produang a different type of knowledge more appropnate Rapoport R (1970) Three dilemmas m achon research Human
to a practice disaplme
At the same time, 1 have also wanted to share some of Reason P (1988) Human Inquiry in Action Developments in New
the pracrtical issues and dilemmas of utilizmg this approach
m reality, m the hope that t b s honest portrayal will help Reason P & Rowan J (1981) Human Inquiry A Sourcebook of New
others develop more appropnate methodologies to bnng
true collaboration to fruition
References
Bateup L (1990) Action Research at Cambenoell Nursing &nith J P (1979) Is the nursmg profession really research based?
Development Umt Inshtute erf Nursmg, Oxford
Bmme A. & Titchen A. (1990) Professional Nursmg m Prachce
A Study of the Emergence of Pnmary Nursmg m an Acute
Medical Ward Unpublished paper, presented at the Inshtute Stenhouse L (1975) Introduction to Cumculum Research and
of Nursing, Oxford
CallawayH (1981) Women's perspechves research as re-vision
In Human Inquiry A Sourabook of New Paradigm Research
(Reason P & Rowan J eds), John Wiley & Sons, Cbchester
Can- W & Kemmis S (1986) Becoming Cnttcal Education, Towell D & Hames CJ (1978) Innovations in Patient Care An
Knowledge and Action Research Falmer Press, London
Gaiic P (1972) Action Research and Organisational Change Harper
Row, London
Corey S (1953) Action Research to Improve School Practice
Columbia University, New York.
1072
EbbuttD (1985) Educational action research some general con-
cems and speafic quibbles In Issues in Educational Research
(Burgess R ed), Falmer Press, London
ElbottJ (1991) Action Research for Educational Change Demloping
Teachers and Teachir^ Open University Press, MUton Keynes
Field P A & Morse J M (1985) Nurstng Research The Application
of Qualitative Approaches Croom Helm, Beckenham, Kent
Glaser B G & Sh-auss A L (1967) The Discovery of Grounded
Theory Strategies for Qualitative Raearch Aldme, Chicago
Greenwood J (1984) Nursing research a position paper Joumal
of Advanced Nursing 9, 77—82
HuntJ (1981) Indicators fornursmg prachce the use of research
fmdmgs Joumal of Advanced Nurstng 6,189-194
Kmgsley S (1985) Action-Research Method or Ideology!
(ARVAC Occasional Paper no 8) Assoaation of Researchers
m Voluntary Achon and Community Involvement Wivenhoe,
Essex
Lacey C & Lawton D (1981) Issues m Evaluation and
Accountability Methuen, London
Lathlean J & Famish S (1984) The Ward Stster Traimng Project
An Evaluation of a Training Scheme (no 3) Nursmg Education
Research Unit, King's College, London
Lewm K (1946) Action research and mmonty problems Joumal
of Social Issues 2, 34—46
McNifiFJ (1988) Action Research Pnnaples and Practice Macmillan
Education, London
ParlettM & Hamilton D (1972) Evaluation as Uluminatton A New
Approach to the Study of Innovatory Programmes Centre for
Research m the Educahonal Saences, University of EdmburgK
Edmburgh
Relations 23(6), 499-513
Paradigm Research Sage, London
Paradigm Research John Wiley & Sons, Chichester
Roper N (1977) Indications for nursmg practice the use of
research findmgs Joumal of Advanced Nursmg 6,189-194
Schon D (1983) The Reflective Practitioner Temple Smith,
London
Joumal of Advanced Nurstng 4,319-325
Stacey J (1988) Can there be a feminist ethnography? Women's
Study Intemational Forum 11(1), 21-27
Development Hememann, London
Susman G I & Evered R D (1978) An assessment of the saentific
ments of action research Administrative Saence Qitarterly, 23
Dec, 582-603
Action Research Study of Change in a Psychiatnc Hospital Croom
Helm, BecJcenham, Kent
Webb C (1989) Action research philosophy, methods and
persc»ial expenencxs Journal of Advanced Nursing 14,
^3-410