Action Research Proposal Table of Contents
ABSTRACT
Formulate
a one-sentence answer for each question, and then combine them into one
paragraph.
1.What is
the purpose of your research?
2.What is
the context of this problem?
3.What is
the scope of this research? How many people, departments, and so on, will be
measured or affected?
4.How many
AR cycles of discovery, measurable action, and reflection were included?
5.What
research questions do you hope to answer?
6.What
outcomes do you hope to effect with your actions?
7.Who are
the stakeholders for your project?
8.What
limitations exist?
9.What
contribution do you expect this research to make to yourself, your organization,
and your field?
BACKGROUND
Write two
to three paragraphs on the context of the problem. Include literature citations
as appropriate. Back up your ideas whenever possible with data. Cite and
reference all data sources.
LOCAL CONTEXT
Write two
to three paragraphs explaining the local context. Help the reader understand
the issues as experienced locally, as well as the importance of the research. The local context refers to what is currently
going on with the issue. Back up the
explanations with citations and references from the literature. Use data to
quantify your ideas, and cite and reference data sources.
PERSONAL CONTEXT
Write two
to six paragraphs describing your relationship to and part in this research.
Answer the following questions:
1.What is
your relationship to the organization where you will be conducting the
research?
2.What
permissions are needed for data collection and analysis? From whom do you need
to get permission?
Have you already collected those
permissions?
3.Will the
change you hope to effect be better served with the ongoing support of a team?
If so, will you be
gathering a team to conduct PAR? If so,
describe the composition of your team, their roles, how often they
will meet, and a timeline for the completion
of the project.
4.Describe
your personal history in relation to the issue you will be studying and, if a
PAR project, your
personal history with the other
participants.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
List
one to four questions you would like to begin to answer:
1. What
new information is needed?
2. What
new data is needed?
3. What
new types of actions are needed?
RESEARCH DESIGN
Insert a
beginning paragraph about the proven efficacy of AR, and then answer the
following questions under subheadings relating to each step in the cycle. Each
section will likely be three to eight paragraphs with citations and references
from the literature, data from your local context, and explanations as
appropriate.
DISCOVERY
1.What
discovery questions do you need answered prior to taking action toward your
desired outcomes?
a. What data will be examined?
2.What
research will be needed, and what tools will be used?
a. What other sources of data may be
required, and how will they be gathered?
MEASURABLE ACTIONS
1. Describe
the purpose of your measurable actions.
a. What do you hope to accomplish? (To what
extent does this accomplishment need to impact humans?)
2. What
archival data exists, and how will you secure access or permission to use it?
3. What
baseline data is needed, how do you plan to gather it, and from whom?
4. What
stakeholders will need to be considered?
a. What forms of data will be most
convincing to them?
5. Will
there be a population from whom you may have to collect data in order to show
relative efficacy of your
action
steps? If so, how will you take steps to include a representative sample?
a.
Who,
if anyone, will be employed to help determine the efficacy of your data
collection and analysis of
your action steps?
REFLECTION
1. Describe
your reflective tools.
a. How often and under what circumstances
will you employ them?
2. Who, if
anyone, will be employed to help determine the efficacy of your reflections?
3. How
will you record the cycles and your determination of next steps?
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
1. What
data source will you gather your data from (organizations, companies, etc.)?
2. Who
will you gather your data from?
a. How will they be recruited
(individually, as a group)?
b. What is their working relationship to
you?
3. What
types of data analysis will you engage (Qualitative interviews, surveys,
reflective learning, etc.)?
ETHICAL ASSURANCES
1. Who
will be included as subjects?
2. In what
manner will their data be gathered and recorded?
3. How
will you ensure confidentiality of their responses?
4. How
will you ensure the safety of your data?
5. What
are the risks and benefits to the subjects for participation in your research?
EXPECTED RESULTS
1.
What
do you hope to accomplish?
2.
How
many cycles of AR do you anticipate engaging in?
DISCUSSION
This
section is used to convince your reader that your expected results are
reasonable. Back up the previous section with a short discussion from research
literature, literature on the issue you are studying, or on AR literature.
FOLLOW-ON STUDIES
1. If it
is not within your time limitations to fully answer all your research
questions, what do you hope to accomplish?
2. What
are the remaining questions, and how will you address them? Over what period of
time?
REFERENCES
Include
APA-formatted references for all authors, works, and data cited herein.
APPENDENCES
Additional
documentation as needed such as surveys, assessments, letters, interview
questions, data log, artifacts etc.
