In Conducting Action Research, Coghlan and Shani explain how action research differs from more detached research methods and provides expert guidance on how to engage effectively with it, helping the reader to complete both a successful research project and produce findings that are useful in an organizational context. Ideal for Business and Management students reading for a Master’s degree, each book in the series may also serve as reference books for doctoral students and faculty members interested in the method. Part of SAGE′s Mastering Business Research Methods, conceived and edited by Bill Lee, Mark N. K. Saunders and Vadake K. Narayanan and designed to support researchers by providing in-depth and practical guidance on using a chosen method of data collection or analysis.

Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization is the essential resource for anyone embarking on a research project in their own organization or as part of a work placement programme whether in business, healthcare, government, education, social work or third sector organizations. The authors provide an easy-to-follow, hands-on guide to every aspect of conducting an action research project and have added in the Third Edition: - more on politics and ethics to help researchers negotiate gaining access and permission, and building and maintaining support from peers and relevant subsystems within an organization - more on writing an action research dissertation, and treatment of sensitive issues such as: giving feedback to one’s superiors and peers, disseminating the research to the wider community, and handling interpretations or outcomes which may be perceived negatively by the organization involved. - more case examples and reflective exercises taken from a wide variety of organizational settings to aid students and researchers whatever their background discipline.

SAGE FUNDAMENTALS OF APPLIED RESEARCH The SAGE Fundamentals of Applied Research (FAR) series brings together the essential and forward thinking articles on doing research in applied contexts with or for specific groups from the foremost publications and edited by established names in the field. Volumes showcase methodological innovations, key debates, and maintain a focus on the professional/applied context of the research and on the methodological and practical implications of doing research within institutional and socio-cultural contexts of such research. The series includes historically seminal pieces alongside the very best pieces from the last few years that express the ‘cutting edge’ in the field.

Action Research for Business, Nonprofit, and Public Administration covers the background, process, and tools needed to introduce and guide you through to a successful action research (AR) project. Included are how to successfully initiate, plan, and complete AR within all types of organizations while focused on business, nonprofit, and public administration. Graphic organizers and a modular sequence of topics help you manage the steps involved in AR practice. A protocol for weekly report writing, informed consent documentation, and clear guidelines for final analyses and report writing give graduate students the efficient format they need. This book teaches theory by interweaving discussion of the major content areas and stories of student success with the concepts that impact practice.

The first edition of The Action Research Dissertation: A Guide for Students and Faculty was a first-of-its-kind reference, distilling the authors’ decades of action research experience into a handy guide for graduate students. The Second Edition continues to provide an accessible roadmap that honors the complexity of action research, while providing an overview of how action research is defined, its traditions and history, and the rationale for using it. Authors Kathryn Herr and Gary L. Anderson demonstrate that action research is not only appropriate for a dissertation, but also is a deeply rewarding experience for both the researcher and participants. This practical book demonstrates how action research dissertations are different from more traditional dissertations and prepares students and their committees for the unique dilemmas they may face, such as validity, positionality, design, write-up, ethics, and dissertation defense.

This book presents a fresh view of action research as a methodology uniquely suited to researching the processes of innovation and change. Drawing on twenty-five years’ experience of leading or facilitating action research projects, Bridget Somekh argues that action research can be a powerful systematic intervention, which goes beyond describing, analyzing and theorizing practices to reconstruct and transform those practices. The book examines action research into change in a range of educational settings, such as schools and classrooms, university departments, and a national evaluation of technology in schools. The opening chapter presents eight methodological principles and discusses key methodological issues. The focus then turns to action research in broader contexts such as ‘southern’ countries, health, business and management, and community development. Each chapter thereafter takes a specific research project as its starting point and critically reviews its design, relationships, knowledge outcomes, political engagement and impact. Action Researchis important reading for postgraduate students and practitioner researchers in education, health and management, as well as those in government agencies and charities who wish to research and evaluate change and development initiatives. It is also valuable for pre-service and in-service training of professionals such as teachers, nurses and managers.

With the Handbook of Action Research hailed as a turning point in how action research is framed and understood by scholars, this student edition has been structured to provide an easy inroad into the field for researchers and students. It includes concise chapter summaries and an informative introduction that draws together the different strands of action research and reveals their diverse applications as well as their interrelations. Divided into four parts, there are important themes of thinking and practice running throughout.

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.

Textbook explaining the relevant concepts, frameworks and processes involved in action research and action learning, as it relates to managing change in business, education, and social and cross-cultural contexts. Includes contributor notes and case studies.

This updated and revised edition offers a comprehensive overview of key research methods and the main choices available when undertaking research in business and management. New to this edition is a comprehensive, practical guide on how to write your dissertation - invaluable to all. It is a clear, concise and practical guide containing wealth of outstanding examples for each method covered.Central to this edition is the 'methods map' (chapter 4), which sets out a logical process for researchers to articulate their position in relation to five key aspects of their research philosophy. In addition, the editors have developed a free app to accompany the book and this enables novice researchers to quickly develop a comprehensive justification of their particular research design in an interactive way. Taking you through the entire life cycle of a dissertation, the text covers everything from the purposes of research through to chapters on gathering primary and secondary data; using literature; quantitative and qualitative research; managing your research; using data and research ethics. Individual chapters are allied to a powerful critical commentary showing how some of the world's leading scholars have used particular methods in their own research. Carefully constructed to achieve the greatest clarity for the student the text gives the reader: * In-text exercises * End of chapter' review questions with solutions* Exemplar papers identified and discussed for each of the main methods *Directed further reading for developing understanding in key areas It is an essential learning aid for upper level undergraduates and postgraduates across a wide range of business and management courses and it comes with a range of supported learning materials including tutorials, lecture slides and tutor notes.Kevin O'Gorman is Professor of Management and Business History and Head of Business Management in the School of Languages and Management in Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. He trained in Glasgow, Salamanca and Rome as a philosopher, theologian and historian. His research interests have a dual focus: Origins, history and cultural practices of hospitality, and philosophical, ethical and cultural underpinnings of contemporary management practices. Using a wide range of methodological approaches he has published over 80 journal articles, books, chapters, and conference papers in business and management studies.Robert MacIntosh is Professor of Strategy and Head of the School of Management and Languages at Heriot-Watt University. He trained as an engineer and has worked at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. His research on the ways in which top teams develop strategy and on organizational change has been published in a wide range of outlets. He has a long-standing interest in research methods for business and management studies and has published on the relevance of management research using methods that include ethnography and action research. He has consulted extensively with public and private sector organizations and sits on the board of the charity Turning Point Scotland.