Action Research Essentials by Dorothy Valcarcel Craig (ISBN:
978-0-470-18929-0, Paperback, 272 pages, March 2009) is now available from Jossey-Bass,
an imprint of John Wiley & Sons.
For more information or to order the book, visits the publisher's website.
To request a desk review copy, please send your name, full institutional
mailing address, and course name/date to researchmethods@wiley.com.
CONTENTS:
Chapter One: Introduction to Action Research; Introduction; What Is Action
Research?; Action Research: Some Definitions; Why Engage in Action
Research?; Steps in the Process; Phases of an Action Research Study; What Are
Data?; When Is Action Research the Appropriate Choice?; How Can the Process
Effect Change?; The Ethical Researcher.
Chapter Two: The Process Begins; The Action Research Environment;
Identifying Problems Suitable for Action Research; Sources for Problems or Research
Topics; Considering the Value of a Problem or Topic; Narrowing the Focus;
The Reflective Journal Revisited; Concept Mapping and Focus; Reflecting on
Relevancy; Inquiring, Questioning, Interviewing, and Gathering Information;
The IRB: Friend or Foe?; Informed Consent Forms and Assent Forms; A Few
More Words on the IRB
Chapter Three: The Literature Review; The Literature Review and Action
Research; What Is a Literature Review?; Rationale for Reviewing Literature;
Literature Review for Action Research; Conducting a General Literature
Review: Processes and Steps; Identifying and Selecting Appropriate Sources;
Relevancy, Accuracy, and Value of Online Sources; Online Literature Review; What
Experts Have to Say; Organizing Sources and Themes in the Literature
Review; Writing the Review
Chapter Four: Designing Research Questions; What Drives a Study?; Starting
Point for Generating Questions; Research Considerations; Research Design
and Research Questions; Research Questions as a Blueprint or Framework; The
Research Statement; Characteristics of Good Research Questions; Questions,
Questions, Questions: Examples and Practice; Research Umbrella as a Source
for Research Questions; Broad Themes, Subthemes, and Research Questions;
Returning to the Literature Review; Blending Ideas to Achieve Refined
Overarching Questions; Research Questions, Chronology, and Writing
Chapter Five: Identifying Data Sets to Inform Inquiry; Revisiting
Questions; Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods; Data Versus Data Sets;
Data Sets That Inform; Aligning Multiple Forms of Data with Overarching
Questions; Triangulation and the Triangulation Matrix; Qualitative Data
Instruments and Schedules; Research and Data Collection Schedules
Chapter Six: The Action Researcher's Tools; Tools for Conducting Research;
Reflective Practice; Identifying and Collecting Artifacts; Making Use of
Electronic Sources and Technology
Chapter Seven: Organizing, Coding, and Analyzing Qualitative Data; Getting
Started; Collecting and Analyzing Data; Organizing Data; Revisiting the
Triangulation Matrix; Examining the Pieces; Examining Individual Data Sets
and Subsets; Coding and Analyzing; Identifying Categories and Defining
Attributes; The Big Picture
Chapter Eight: The Action Research Report; Writing the Action Research
Report; Rationale for Writing the Report; Components; Tips for Writing;
Reporting and Presenting Findings; The Action Research Report Assignment
Chapter Nine: Designing and Implementing the Action Plan; The Action Plan;
Rationale; Purpose; When Is an Action Plan Appropriate?; Informed Decision
Making; Designing the Plan; Components; Using Findings to Inform Design;
Continuous Improvement
(Each chapter includes: Summary; Key Terms; Discussion Questions;
Suggested Topics; and Online Activities. An instructor's supplement contains
additional resources.)
