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The Learning Organization

ISSN : 0969-6474

Article publication date: 1 October 2002

This paper argues that action research is more appropriate than traditional research for improving practice, and professional and organisational learning. Our particular aim is to help postgraduates in the social and human sciences to understand and clarify the difference between core action research and thesis action research; that is, between collaborative, participatory action research in the field (aimed at practical improvement in a learning organisation) and independent action research in preparing the thesis (aimed at making an original contribution to knowledge). We present a model to illustrate the distinction and relationship between thesis research, core research and thesis writing.

  • Action research
  • Organizational learning

Zuber‐Skerritt, O. and Perry, C. (2002), "Action research within organisations and university thesis writing", The Learning Organization , Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696470210428895

Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited

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The Action Research Dissertation

The Action Research Dissertation A Guide for Students and Faculty

  • Kathryn Herr - Montclair State University, USA
  • Gary L. Anderson - New York University, USA
  • Description

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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Student who conducted action research dissertation finds it very helpful. Will use it again for the summer

Great text that introduces doctoral students to action research in relation to dissertation projects.

Recommended for any student or practitioner involved in research. Clearly set out and easy to follow. Used by all my dissertation students and for my own practice.

A superb book to guide dissertation students as they undertake their action research.

Supports students to study the different approaches within action research; exploring their own practice and that of others. (This publication has been recommended to both our Early Childhood Studies and Education in Lifelong Learning Degree programmes)

This book supports the students in the developmental stages of their research ideas and planning of their action research projects. It has also supported ongoing professional discussions between tutors and students.

  • New sections in Chapter 1 reflect the changes and ongoing development in the field of action research, such as youth participatory action research and the emerging area of arts-based approaches to action research.
  • A restructured Chapter 5 offers a substantive new introduction , expanded coverage of the proposal and proposal writing, and incorporates narratives from current dissertations to showcase the real world of dissertation writing.
  • Chapter 6 includes a new composite illustration of PAR dissertations and adds a completely new case example that reflects the recent dramatic growth of EdD programs with part-time students.
  • An all-new Chapter 7 is loosely structured around Guillemin & Gillam’s work that distinguishes between “procedural ethics” and “ethics in action,” and covers the ethical issues commonly encountered in action research.

KEY FEATURES:

  • The text provides an interdisciplinary and thorough review of action research for graduate students.
  • Case Examples and narratives from current dissertations highlight the real world of dissertation writing .
  • Detailed tables offer comparisons of action research and other qualitative techniques, as well as different approaches to action research .

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Action Research in Education

Insider action research doctorates: Generating actionable knowledge

  • Published: 14 September 2006
  • Volume 54 , pages 293–306, ( 2007 )

Cite this article

action research within organisations and university thesis writing

  • David Coghlan 1  

The aim of this article is to contribute to understanding of the issue raised when executives do action research in their own organizations for doctorates. There are a number of significant challenges for those executives considering action research in their own organization, which are explored under the headings of, preunderstanding, role duality and organizational politics. The article reflects on the executive action research doctorate in terms of the engagement of the individual manager–researcher in first person inquiry, the collaborative activities with others in second person inquiry and the third person contribution of actionable knowledge to the practitioner and academic communities.

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Zuber-Skerritt O. and Perry C. (2002). Action research within organizations and university thesis writing. The Learning Organization 9: 171–179

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  1. Action research within organisations and university thesis writing

    Abstract. This paper argues that action research is more appropriate than traditional research for improving practice, and professional and organisational learning. Our particular aim is to help postgraduates in the social and human sciences to understand and clarify the difference between core action research and thesis action research; that ...

  2. Action research within organisations and university thesis writing

    research involves action learning, but not vice versa, because action research is more. 4. deliberate, systematic, critical, emancipatory and rigorous. Thus action research is more. relevant to ...

  3. Action Research within Organisations and University Thesis Writing

    Explains how core action research may be incorporated into thesis research in the social sciences, resulting in more useful outcomes for improving practice. ... Action Research within Organisations and University Thesis Writing. Zuber-Skerritt, Ortrun; Perry, Chad. Learning Organization, v9 n4 p171-79 2002.

  4. (PDF) Doing action research in your own organization

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  5. Professional Learning through an Action Research Thesis

    Abstract. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the quality characteristics of an action research thesis, compared to traditional research thesis writing, by drawing on the literature and our experience with supervising and examining action research theses. We identify key problem areas in the literature and suggest effective strategies ...

  6. The Action Research Dissertation

    NEW TO THIS EDITION: New sections in Chapter 1 reflect the changes and ongoing development in the field of action research, such as youth participatory action research and the emerging area of arts-based approaches to action research.; A restructured Chapter 5 offers a substantive new introduction, expanded coverage of the proposal and proposal writing, and incorporates narratives from current ...

  7. Value Co-creation with Stakeholders Using Action Research as a Meta

    Davis J. (2004). Writing an action research thesis: One researcher's resolution of the problematic of form and process. In McWilliam E., Danby S., & Knight J ... & Perry C. (2002). Action research within organisations and university thesis writing. The Learning Organization, 9(4), 171-179. Crossref. Google Scholar. Cite article Cite article ...

  8. Action research within organisations and university thesis writing

    Action research within organisations and university thesis writing Buy Article: ... in the social and human sciences to understand and clarify the difference between core action research and thesis action research; that is, between collaborative, participatory action research in the field (aimed at practical improvement in a learning ...

  9. Creating New Knowledge while Solving a Relevant Practical ...

    This paper focuses on university-firm relationships in terms of individual interactions between researchers and practitioners. More specifically, we focus on an analysis of the main factors that influence the use of the action research (AR) to achieve a successful doctoral thesis. In order to achieve this, we developed a Delphi study with 15 panelists whose common characteristic is that they ...

  10. What Is Action Research?

    Action research is a research method that aims to simultaneously investigate and solve an issue. In other words, as its name suggests, action research conducts research and takes action at the same time. It was first coined as a term in 1944 by MIT professor Kurt Lewin.A highly interactive method, action research is often used in the social sciences, particularly in educational settings.

  11. Action research within organisations and university thesis writing

    This paper argues that action research is more appropriate than traditional research for improving practice, and professional and organisational learning. Our particular aim is to help postgraduates in the social and human sciences to understand and clarify the difference between core action research and thesis action research; that is, between collaborative, participatory action research in ...

  12. Action research in graduate management research programs

    The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how action research may be applied to graduate management research programs. After distinguishing action research from traditional research and establishing that the former is more appropriate for developing managerial competencies than the latter, the paper discusses issues of conducting action research within a graduate management research program.

  13. Chapter 8

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  14. Action Research on Sustainable Development

    Zuber-Skerrit O, Perry C (2002) Action research within organisations and university thesis writing. Learn Organ 9(4):171-179. Article Google Scholar Zuber-Skerrit O, Wood L, Bob D (2013) Action research for sustainable development in a turbulent world: reflections and future perspectives.

  15. Action research in business and management: A reflective review

    Action research has come to be understood as a global family of related approaches that integrates theory and practice with a goal of addressing important organizational, community, and social issues together with those who experience them (Bradbury, 2015; Brydon-Miller & Coghlan, 2014).It focuses on the creation of areas for collaborative learning and the design, enactment, and evaluation of ...

  16. Recipe or performing art?: Challenging conventions for writing action

    Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and action research. Geelong: Deakin University . Google Scholar. Carson, T. R. (1997). Reflection and its resistances: Teacher education as a living practice. ... Action research within organisations and university thesis writing . The Learning Organization, 9(4), 171-179 . Google Scholar. Cite article

  17. (PDF) Doing and writing action research

    Doing and writing action research, by Jean McNiff and Jack Whitehead, London, Sage, 2009, 202 pp., $38.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-84787-175-6. Writing up action research has some distinctive ...

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  20. Professional Learning through an Action Research Thesis

    The purpose of this chapter is to identify the quality characteristics of an action research thesis, compared to traditional research thesis writing, by drawing on the literature and our experience with supervising and examining action research theses. We identify key problem areas in the literature and suggest effective strategies for meeting these challenges and avoiding pitfalls through ...

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  23. Insider action research doctorates: Generating actionable knowledge

    There are a number of significant challenges for those executives considering action research in their own organization, which are explored under the headings of, preunderstanding, role duality and organizational politics. ... Action research within organizations and university thesis writing. The Learning Organization 9: 171-179.