Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization

by David Coghlan

Concise and unintimidating, the fifth edition of this bestselling book is the only pragmatic, quick-start guide to the main theories, issues, and approaches to insider action research. With an encouraging and approachable tone, David is the perfect mentor for anyone conducting action research in their own organization. Calming nerves at the same time as building confidence, he helps readers devise an appropriate research design that anticipates possible challenges and fits within the limits of their environments. A complete do-it-yourself toolkit for every step of the action research process, this edition is outfitted - Real-world student and professional case studies - Author video tips - Annotated templates - Progress checklists - Journal articles, weblinks, and other further reading. To the point without losing clarity or thoroughness, this book is  the  hands-on manual for all the need-to-know facts about understanding and undertaking insider action research.

Genres: Nonfiction, Research, Business, School

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 2000

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I rate this book quite high, I cannot call it entertaining. In truth, I would not have read if I did not have to complete an action research project as part of my masters degree. But, since I had to read it, I tried to approach it with as open mind as possible. Here's what I came up with...

From a purely technical and grammatical standpoint, the book is well written, easy to read, and goes as far as it can go to making the topic interesting. I particularly like that it doesn't try to say too much. By this I mean that the authors keep the book succinct and present the important information - if it's in this book, it's worth remembering. Further, the use of bullet lists, boxes, etc. keep the pace up while reading. It doesn't bore the reader as many textbooks do.

The book presents common sense advice. We could all have probably written it based on our own intuition. But with a tool like this, we can document why our intuition is appropriate and we can explain some of the more abstract, conceptual exclusions we may make in an action research project.

My kudos to you if you are willing to undertake an action research project on your own (I may do a modified form of it at work, but not for pleasure!). If you do and you'd like a good, solid resource that will guide you through some of the uncertainty you are likely to face, then this book is for you.

J.

[Said AlMaskery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurt Lewin is often known as the originator of Action Research. The approach developed exponentially with time and the more you know about the concept the more you become aware of the importance of actively observing and reflecting on your surrounding.
This book, brings in another aspect of action research: how do you implement it on your own organization where you are an active figure in its day-today operations?

A useful guide to the theory and practical aspect of action research.

[Iain Lennon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gave me the framework of my MBA dissertation, so my sense of relief and gratitude is doubtless a bias. A great overview (and source of quotations) for research that takes a situated approach.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good textbook. The accompanying videos and activities are quick and clear .

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

More likely 3.5 stars, but I'll have to see how much this will bring me in the long run.

I will most certainly re-read several of the chapters given that I'm following a course to implement a form of action research in our organisation.

[Ch Warraich]

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