Improving Schools Through Action Research: A Comprehensive Guide for Educators Book

Preface to the Second Edition     v
Preface to the First Edition     vi
Research Methods in Education     1
Ways Research Advances Knowledge About Education     1
The Origin of Action Research     5
The Action Research Process     8
Types Of Action Research     9
The Importance of Action Research for Improving Schools     10
Becoming Familiar with the Language and Process of Action Research     13
Summary     14
Additional Reading Materials     14
Action Research Resources     14
Generating Research Ideas Through Reflection     23
Reflection: Its History and Definitions     25
Types of Reflection     25
Reflection in Action Research     29
Reflecting to Identify a Research Focus     30
Reflective Journals     33
Summary     36
Connecting Theory and Action: Reviewing the Literature     37
Reviewing Literature as a Professional, Intellectual Activity     38
Sources of Topic-Specific Literature     39
Searching for Literature to Review     41
Choosing, Evaluating, and Synthesizing Reviewed Literature for Action Research Studies     49
Organizing and Writing the Literature Review     52
Summary     59
Initial Planning of the Action Research Study     67
Articulating Research Questions     67
Planning the Intervention     71
Summary     78
Strategies for Collecting Data     79
Collecting Multiple Forms of Data to Establish Credibility and Validity     79
Methods of Data Collection: Artifacts, Observational Data, and Inquiry Data     81
The Importance of Collecting Baseline Data     106
Aligning Data Collection Strategies with Research Questions     107
Summary     109
Final Planning Before Implementation of the Study     111
Definitions of Validity     111
Determining Ways to Increase Validity     112
Ethical Guidelines for Action Research Studies     117
Engaging in Continuous, Ongoing Reflective Planning Throughout the Study     121
Creating a Timeline for the Project     122
Summary     124
Strategies for Data Analysis     127
Interim Data Analysis     127
Using Software Packages to Analyze Large Amounts of Data     128
Analysis of Quantitative Data: Reporting, Comparing, and Displaying      129
Analysis of Qualitative Data: Looking for Themes and Patterns     143
Triangulating Data Sources and Drawing Conclusions from Data     155
Summary     158
Writing and Disseminating the Action Research Report     159
Guidelines for Writing the Final Action Research Report     159
Disseminating Action Research Findings     165
Other Ways to Write Up Research     169
Concluding Comments     170
Action Research Articles     171
References     209
Index     213