ACTION RESEARCH HISTORICAL RESEARCH THE CASE STUDY APPROACH Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 OTHER...

ACTION RESEARCH

HISTORICAL RESEARCH

THE CASE STUDY APPROACH

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010

OTHER TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Action Research


“A model for enacting local, action-oriented approaches of investigating” (Berg)

A research framework used to…Produce useful knowledge through

research, education, and sociopolitical actionEnlighten and empower the average person

in a group

Origins of Action Research Kurt Lewin first used the term “action

research” in 1946 to describe “research leading to social action” that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action”

Criticized as having an intrinsically political nature.

“Participation is empowerment and empowerment is politics” (Berger)

Participatory Action Research in the Community Increasing use of action research methods

to perform community based research (CBR)

Rationale:Perceived academic-community disconnectCriticism of overly narrowly defined research

by academiaPerceived need for students to develop civic

capacity and democratic citizenship

Community Based Research (CBR)

Can have a local, regional, national or global focus

Using action research in communities is a way of combining academic knowledge with praxis with the goal of social and economic justice for all

Praxis From the Greek praxis (refers to work

performed by free men) Aristotle: three types of activity and related

knowledge in life: theoria (the theoretical pursuit of truth)poiesis (with the goal of making things and

production)praxis (with the end goal of action)

Karl Marx and Praxis

In Communist Manifesto (Marx, 1848), noted need for working class (proletariat) to overcome false consciousness

to develop class consciousness and move from being “class-in-itself” to become “class-for-itself”

Achieved through praxis = knowledge and research should inform one’s action (Marx, Theses on Feuerbach 1845)

Action Research in the Community Has become popular method for teaching

community members (esp. in low income areas) to explore, challenge, and react to own needs

Paulo Freire advocated community controlled social change in Brazil. Freire (1990) wrote, "The silenced are not just incidental to the curiosity of

the researcher but are the masters of inquiry into the underlying causes of the events in their world. In this context research becomes a means of moving them beyond silence into a quest to proclaim the world.”

Orlando Fals-Borda organized PAR conferences for researchers in Colombia to teach them how to collaborate with and empower members of peasant groups in creating their own forms of social change.

CBR Principles

Research should:1. be a collaborative enterprise2. validate multiple sources of knowledge and

employ mixed methods3. have the goals of social action and social

change in order to achieve social justice

The Research Process


Identify the research questionsGather the information to answer the

questionsAnalyze and interpret the informationShare the results with the participantsIn participatory-action research and

CBR, the participants are active collaborators

Berg’s Basics


LookingGathering information, identifying

stakeholdersThinking

Making interpretations, analyzing collected data

ActionApplication of results to improve lives of

stakeholders

Guiding Questions of Analysis


Why?Establishes a general focus for the

investigator and stakeholdersWhat and How?

Help to establish the problem issuesWho, Where, and When?

Specific actors, events, and activities

The Action Researcher’s Role


Holistic

Collaboration with local practitionersCollaboration with local stakeholders

Berg’s Types of Action Research


Technical/Scientific/CollaborativeTesting interventions based on a

theoretical frameworkResearcher collaborates with practitioner Practitioner facilitates implementation

Types (cont.)


Practical/Mutual Collaborative/DeliberateResearcher and practitioner collaboration

Mutual identification of problems, causes, and interventions

Empowering and emancipating stakeholders

Types (cont.)


Emancipating or Empowering/Enhancing/Critical ScienceApply theory and book knowledge to the

real worldRaise collective consciousness of

practitionersPromote change

Photovoice


Subjects themselves photograph certain aspects of their livesCan empower and enable reflectionEncourages dialogue and knowledge

transferAllows sharing of perceptions of those not

in control with those in controlCan be key to giving members of

disenfranchised groups a voice

Methods of Photovoice


Selecting PhotographsWhich photographs most accurately

reflect the issues?Contextualizing Stories

Offer accounts about photographsCodifying

Identify central issues, themes or theories

Photovoice Projects

Photovoice.caWomen’s JourneyUrban-Rural ProcessNya:Weh: Our Stories Our Way

Historical Research


To understand the historical nature of phenomena, events, people, agencies and institutions

Historiographysystematic reconstruction of the past

Value of Historical Research

It throws light on present and future trends. It enables understanding of and solutions to

contemporary problems to be sought in the past. It can illuminate the effects of key interactions

within a culture or sub-culture. It allows for the revaluation of data in relation to

selected hypotheses, theories and generalizations that are presently held about the past and the present.

Data Sources


Primary Sourcesoral or written testimony of eyewitnessesDocuments, photographs, recordings,

diaries

Data Sources


Secondary Sourcesoral or written testimony of people not

immediately presentOral historiesNewspaper stories, textbooks

Data Sources


Tertiary Sourcespresentation or collection of primary or

secondary sourcesAlmanacs, biographies, encyclopedias

Steps in Historical Research


Identify an ideaConduct a literature reviewRefine the research questionsSelect historiographyIdentify primary and secondary

sourcesConfirm authenticity and accuracyAnalyze the data

Evaluating Primary Sources


External Criticism--AuthenticityWho wrote the source?What was the intended audience?Historical context?

Internal Criticism-AccuracyWhat does it mean?Why was it written?

Oral History


To collect real-life experiences and stories from individuals about their pasts

Gives narrative access to real-life experiences and memories

Uses depth or intensive interviewingNecessitates good interviewing skillOral history interviewing is valuable for

history, anthropology, and folklore.

Oral History (cont.) Gathers data not available in written

records about events, people, decisions, and processes.

Can show how individual values and actions shaped the past, and how the past shapes present-day values and actions.

Methodological problem: Grounded in memory, and memory is a subjective

instrument for recording the past, always shaped by the present moment and the individual psyche.

Why Collect Oral Histories?

Listen to Alice Nixon Cooper (104 years old) and her recollections of the American south and “the Jim Crow days”

Case Study Approach Provides a “holistic description and

explanation” (Berg) Research skills needed:

Inquiring mindAbility to listenAdaptability and flexibilityUnderstanding of the issuesUnbiased interpretation of data

Types of Case Studies


Intrinsic—better understanding of a particular case

Instrumental—focus on single issue or concern

Collective—extensive study of several instrumental cases

The design can be…


Exploratory as a prelude to a large social scientific study

Explanatory as in causal studiesDescriptive to establish an overall

description and framework

The Organizational Case Study


Systematic information gatheringCan use grounded theory approachInsight into the life of the organization

Relationships, behaviors, attitudes, motivations, stressors

Community Case Study


Geographically delineated unit of larger society

Provides awareness of community occurrencesWhy and how things occur

Interest groupsSocial ClassesCan use participatory action research

Case Study Example

A Case Study of Organizational Stress in Elite Sport (Woodman and Hardy, 2001) Case study performed in Wales of 15 elite

athletes using standardized interviewsThis study uses content analysis and

grounded theory to analyze data

ACTION RESEARCH HISTORICAL RESEARCH THE CASE STUDY APPROACH Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 OTHER...

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