What is Action Research? A Complete Guide

Looking for ways to improve yourself? Well, if you didn't know, action research can be the solution you have beed looking for. 

Whether you are a teacher, healthcare professional, or community leader, this method can help you continuously improve. Action research prompts you to assess issues, take action, and implement the right resolution plan (eventually).

We will discuss the concept in detail. Here’s what you can expect from the blog. 

• Action research definition
• Action research types
• Stages of action research
• Action research examples
• How to conduct action research?
• Best tool for action research?

Let’s start with the definition. 

What is Action Research?

Action research is a way to solve problems while also learning from the process. It’s often used by teachers and educators to improve their teaching methods and help students learn better.

For example, imagine you are a teacher who notices that students are struggling with reading. With action research, you would be sharing surveys to collect student feedback. You find out they aren't reading well and the reason behind it.

Based on the insights you got, you devised a plan to implement a new program in the class. You set a time period, say 3 months, and observe whether there are any positive changes in a student's reading habit.

If the changes worked, then it's good. Otherwise, implement a new plan.

The teacher identified a problem, found a way to solve it, and learned more about the students in the process...this is action research.

4 Different Types of Action Research

Though action research is prevalent in the education industry, it can be used across other industries as well. With that in mind, let's discuss the different types of action research.

Type 1 - Technical Action Research

This type focuses on fixing specific problems in systems or processes. For example, if a website is hard to use, technical action research might look at how to make it easier for people to navigate.

Type 2 - Collaborative Action Research

In this type, a group of people works together to solve a problem. For instance, teachers in a school might team up to find better ways to teach their students. Everyone shares their ideas and helps each other.

Type 3 - Critical Reflection Action Research

This type encourages people to think deeply about their actions and the bigger issues around them. It’s about questioning how things are done and finding ways to make them fairer or better.

For example, a community might look at why some groups have less access to resources and work together to change that.

Type 4 - Individual Action Research

Here, one person looks closely at their own work or teaching methods. For instance, a teacher might try out a new way of teaching and then reflect on how well it worked for their students. This helps them grow and improve.

Now, let us look at the four crucial stages of the research.

What Are the 4 Stages of Action Research?

There are mainly four stages to action research. They are -

1. Planning
2. Acting
3. Observing
4. Reflecting

Let's discuss them each in detail!

Stage 1 - Planning

Going blindly is never an option. You should always have a proper plan in place and a goal to reach. This will help you understand what to do and prepare you for any challenges that may lie ahead.

So how can you do this?

Start by choosing a specific issue you want to investigate. (Make sure that it is focused enough to manage easily.)

The next step is to gather information on the topic. You can start by looking into existing articles and studies. But for accuracy and relevancy, we suggest you gather data directly from the audience.

Why? Because if you are doing market research, then you must have the latest data to draw conclusions.

The information you get will help you see what has already been done and what gaps exist. Now, build on these to set your goals and iterate your plan.

Stage 2 - Acting

As the name indicates, this stage is where you put the plan into action. Follow the plan and carry out the steps you outlined while staying true to your original plan.

Now, as you implement your plan, keep a detailed note on what you did and when. (Trust us it's going to be really helpful)

Stage 3 - Observing

This stage is where you collect and analyze data to see if your actions worked or not. The data can contain both qualitative and quantitative data, so it's important to gather them in an organized way. (More reasons to consider using survey tools)

If you are using tools like SurveySparrow you can gather all crucial data into one place and visualize them.

Want to check out SurveySparrow? Try their free forever plan. You can get access to everything from countless in-built templates to AI surveys. Sign up and check out the effectiveness for yourselves!!

Stage 4 - Reflecting

Reflection is a crucial part of the process. You have to understand what worked well and what didn't. See if the implemented action helps you reach your goal. If it didn't, then look into the "WHY" and strategize better plans to meet them.

In most cases, some work, and some others don't. So, don't get disappointed if it doesn't work well. Learn from the process, reiterate, and repeat the process. 

3 Different Examples of Action Research

The main purpose of this section is to make you understand who and where action research can be used. So, go through the following action research examples and learn if it's suited for you or not.

Example 1 - Nature Tourism in the Caribbean

Promoting tourism and protecting the environment is a balance every government tries to achieve. It's for this particular goal, researchers conducted action research for Windward islands.

The researchers started by conducting conferences with local stakeholders. They were able to gather stakeholder's input and develop an action plan for the tourism initiatives. The researchers were successfully able to engage local communities and promote sustainable tourism practices.

Example 2 - Student Engagement in Classrooms

With the wake of Covid-19, almost every classroom had gone digital. and now, they have transitioned back to classrooms. However, educational institutions found a lack of engagement among students. This is why a group of educators implemented action research in their class to improve the engagement.

They identified specific teaching strategies that were not engaging the students. So, they gathered insights from students (using surveys), tested new approaches, and implemented the one that worked best for the students.

The educators were able to increase student engagement and improve learning outcomes.

Example 3 - Teacher Professional Development

This is yet another example of how useful action research can be in educational institutions.

Teachers collaborated to conduct action research to improve their professional development programs. They collected teacher feedback, and based on it came up with an action plan.

They developed new workshops and assessed the effectiveness of them through online surveys and classroom observations. The result they got was promising. The teachers felt the program helped and felt they are better equipped to manage their students and careers.

3 Methods for Conducting Action Research

Though there are more, we will discuss only the 5 most used tools for action research. Have a look at them.

1. Survey Tools

We have already hinted how useful a survey tool can be throughout the blog. It's an easier way to collect and analyze feedback. Not to mention the wide range of audience it allows you to connect with.

You can customize the surveys using different types of questions and collect all kinds of feedback. If you are using tools like SurveySparrow, you can get deep insights and even identify hidden trends. 

The above given is a sneak peek into how AI helps with survey creation in SurveySparrow. The feature is available with the free version of the tool. So, feel free to try it out.

2. Interviews

Just like how a recruiter interviews a potential employee, you can interview your audience. These are mostly interviews with participants to gather their thoughts and experience. The questions are often open-ended and the feedback, unstructured.

A plus side is that you can notice how each participant reacts to queries. And the answers will be more relevant and insightful.

3. Audio & Video Recordings

If you can't be available for interviews, record events and sessions. You can review these events, either audio or video, to understand customer expectations and preferences. We highly recommend video recording so that you can notice the audience's body language as well. 

How SurveySparrow Can Help With Action Research?

From multilingual surveys and omnichannel sharing to AI surveys and AI feedback analysis - SurveySparrow has it all. With respect to action research, you can expect the following from the tool. 

• You can create customized surveys tailored to your target audience.
• 28 different types of survey questions to make the survey engaging.
• It supports 130+ languages, allowing you to reach a global audience.
• AI to create and analyze survey data.
• You can share surveys across 10+ channels, allowing you to reach audiences where they are active.
• Advanced analytics - CogniVue - to assess unstructured qualitative feedback data. 

The list goes on. If you are interested in learning more about the tool, you can schedule a demo with our team. They will walk you through the tool and help you understand how it can be useful for your research. 

If you are a DIY person, then try the free forever plan. You can get access to almost all features including AI surveys. 

Use the following to sign up for free!!!