Action research a Handbook for Students
participation in a certain action. Geraldyn Hynes, David Coghlan and Mary
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ActionResearchaHandbookforStudents
participation in a certain action. Geraldyn Hynes, David Coghlan and Mary McCarron [2012] point out that assuming the epistemological approach, col- lective participatory process of conducting action research is characterised by all participants understanding the process in which they are involved, and the fact that meanings are given to the observed phenomena together — and not only from the perspective of the knowledge and experience of the leading researcher. By emphasising this as the principal idea behind action research, Albert Cherns, Peter Clark and William Jenkins [1976, p. 35] challenge “the position of the social scientist as privileged observer, analyst, and critic.” Participation according to this definition means full involvement combined with mutual understanding and acceptance of diversity and competences of the process participants. The characteristic feature of action research is acknowl- edging the capability of every process participant to carry out every stage of the research, and accepting their right to make decisions, especially those which can influence their future in the organisation. In this sense, according to Kemmis [2008] action research has a socio-political dimension. By adopting this assumption and understanding of participation, the re- searcher embarking on action research decides to co-create a research communi- ty in which they will be involved at each stage of the research process. Together, they form a particular community of practice. Yonthan Mirzahi defines it as a group of people who are involved in a certain action to both solve a specific problem and for mutual learning through regular interactions and exchange of thoughts [Coghlan, Brydon-Miller 2014, p. 135]. Going a step further in the attempt to define the community of practice, and referring to the organisation studies and knowledge management theory, we can present it as a community of people who not only share their passion and willingness to solve certain prob- lems, but they also want to expand their knowledge through mutual community learning [Jeon, Kim, Koh 2011]. The characteristic feature of each community of practice is collecting, pro- ducing and exchanging knowledge together. For numerous researchers this is even more important in action research than solving a specific problem [Coghlan 2001]. Processes of exchange between (co-)participants of the research can occur overtly and directly, as well as unconsciously and indirectly, when various tasks are performed together. It should be clearly emphasised that the advantage of research communities comes from acknowledging their great diversity in terms of the knowledge, education and practical experience they have. Awareness and 99 c hAPteR 4: The researcher and their relationships with (other) participants of action research acceptance of this fact definitely allows for enriching the research process. Natu- rally, for the researcher it means the need to acknowledge that their competences are no better or more important than those that other community members have, and only when combined, they form a particular added value which determines the exceptional usefulness of action research, both for the world of science as well as for management practitioners. Fully tapping into the potential of research com- munities often depends on with whom and how we, as researchers, build relation- ships in the environment of the organisation participating in the research. In recent decades many new technologies and IT tools have emerged which, from the practical point of view, significantly facilitate researchers creating and managing research practices. With increasing frequency researchers use the In- ternet, as well as social networking platforms, e.g. Facebook (which allows for creating a shared discussion group), or tools for storing and sharing resources (like Dropbox which facilitates file sharing), as well as Blogger (which enables sharing the record of one’s reflections with other users, and engaging them in a discussion). Considering the fact that often members of a research community represent various interest groups or even organisations, which poses a logisti- cal difficulty to holding regular meetings, using the Internet enables staying in touch and regular exchange of thoughts which is crucial for the essence of the research community. 2. ETHICAL ASPECTS OF ACTION RESEARCH Both the process of collecting information, and its application require researchers to act according to the so-called best research practices, i.e. taking into account ethical principles of conducting scientific research. Every researcher encounters numerous dilemmas and ethical challenges in their practice; it is an inevitable Download 0.96 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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