Action Research

The current society is the result of many researches and experiments done by creative thinkers who believed that there were better and improved ways of doing things, not that they got it right the first time, their results were a combination of continuous research, implementations and failures till they got an optimum result one classic example is Mr. Thomas Alva Edison in the process of inventing the light bulb he failed a good thousand times before he was successful.

What is Action Research:

 Action research is a research method in which researches intervenes in and during the research to serve two purposes one to bring positive change and to generate knowledge and theory.

The term "action research" was introduced by a German American Social psychologist named Kurt Lewin in the 1940’s.

Steps in Action reaction:

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Identification of problem area:

Collection and organization of data:

The collection of data is an important step in deciding what action needs to be taken for example (journals, individual files logs of meetings videotapes, case studies, surveys records – interviews tests, report cards, attendance self-assessment samples of student work, projects, performances).

Interpretation of data:

Analyze and identify the relevant data and convert them into usable information. Also to organize them into charts and other presentable media to make the information more accurate, reliable and understandable.

Action based on data:

Utilizing the information provided, a plan of action needs to be designed which would enable you to make a change and to study that change. It is important that only one variable be altered.

Reflection:

Review on the effectiveness of the actions taken and assess whether further improvements have to be taken, If there is improvement, hence is there clear evidence to support same? If no, what changes can be made to the actions to elicit better results?

What kinds of questions/problems might it be useful for?

Action researches are mainly useful to improve professional practices such as teaching, it is also used to have a deep understanding over the current practices and development of a better solution or practice that could benefit the society and are mainly used by medical practitioners to treat patients diagnosed with various new diseases where they analyze, implement ,and continue doing the same till an optimum solution is met to treat the patient, teachers, scientists as well as IT professionals use action research in their processes.

How could it be used in IT research (try to think of an example)?

Action researches are mainly useful to improve professional practices such as teaching, it is also used to have a deep understanding over the current practices and development of a better solution or practice that could benefit the society and are mainly used by medical practitioners to treat patients diagnosed with various new diseases where they analyze, implement ,and continue doing the same till an optimum solution is met to treat the patient, teachers, scientists as well as IT professionals use action research in their processes.

AI artificial intelligence since it is a wide area of technology yet to be discovered researches and technicians need to analyze the current progress and where they need to be and implement solutions, monitor and control the outcomes continuously till the optimum result is met.

What are the strengths of the approach?

Action research helps initiate permanent changes for the betterment of the society, it improves the quality of life, helps identify new ways to do things, helps to improve productivity, motivates new thinking patterns and provides a foundation to the next person doing the task to improve the quality and productivity continuously.

What are the weaknesses of the approach?

There will be a lack of knowledge during the first stages of the process, hence would result in the process to be time consuming, since the research would be done during the time of the project it would be difficult to gather resources to proceed the tasks for example it would be difficult to gather the human resource all at the same time to proceed with a specific task and if the staff is not highly committed it would be rather difficult to proceed the research.

References: 

EileenFerrance.(2000).ACTIONRESEARCH.LAB.https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.academics.education-allianceSearch | BrownUniversity.(n.d.).Retrieved June27,2020,fromhttps://www.brown.edu/searchq=Action+Research/files/publications/act_research.pdf’