Review: Jean McNiff & Jack Whitehead (2006). All You Need to Know About Action Research

Abstract

This book serves as a comprehensive guide to action research. It provides useful information on how to undertake an action research project, write reports and disseminate research findings. Specifically, it explains how to identify a research question, map out an action plan, use appropriate methodologies and generate evidence from the data to test findings against the most stringent critiques. In doing so, the book provides justification for action research and its potential scholarly benefits. The book achieves most of the objectives set out by the authors in the introductory section. The strength of the book is reflected in the authors' skillful organization of key concepts in a manner that follows a logical order. Chapters, sections, and subsections respond to questions posed at the beginning of each section. The use of examples and case studies is especially helpful in educating researchers about all aspects associated with "doing action research." The book is written more for a practitioner-scholar than for scholar-practitioner. However, the book only marginally succeeds in contextualizing action research in the larger theoretical and interdisciplinary discourse. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs070382

Keywords

• action research
• data collection techniques
• dissemination
• monitoring practice
• validation