This book is about conducting action research. It takes the reader step-by-step through the process of action research and illustrates each of the stages with illuminating examples of action research, where possible drawn from published literature, so that readers can see how action research has been conducted and applied in practice. These illustrations reflect some of the differing applications of action research, in doing so illustrating how the alternative approaches map against a common process.

The exploration of the stages of action research raise some of the conceptual and practical issues in conducting action research. These include issues such as: in what way is action research participatory and how does action relate to research (and visa versa)? This book therefore provides the following: an overview of differing approaches to action research; a guide to readers of the phases of action research an illustration of these phases with examples from contemporary applications of action research; and an introduction to a range of issues in conducting action research.