Action research is something that can be heard quite often in educational circles these days. Besides, students have to complete this task from time to time. Yet, what is action research actually about? What are those actions that you need to take? Let us discuss these issues.
 
Action research – what is it all about?
 
In a few words, action research can be defined as a reflective process. It is an individual or collaborative activity focused on real problems and ways of solving them. It means you do not have to deal with theoretical issues but rather have to focus on the problems that are close and interesting to you.
 
Action research has nothing to do with:

A library project, which just helps us get more information on a certain topic.

A project that aims to find correct answers or prove that something is wrong. You will be looking for the ways to make something better.

Types of action research
 
There are two main types of action research:

Individual research. You will have to work on a quite narrow problem on your own.

Collaborative research. You will work in two or in a group of several other peers. This allows you to investigate a broader problem.

Stages of action research
 
There are 5 steps that you have to take:

1. Defining a problem;
2. Collecting data;
3. Interpreting data;
4. Taking following actions based on the data collected;
5. Evaluating the results

Ways of collecting data for action research
 
It is a really significant step, and you have to know effective ways of taking it. They are:

• Interviews;
• Surveys;
• Focus groups;
• Questionnaires;
• Case studies;
• Portfolios, etc.

Do not forget that an action research proposal is something that you definitely have to prepare. Our tips can be rather helpful for creating a successful action research proposal.
 
If you need more research paper guidelines, we are ready to provide them.