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Develops a definition of action research that is particularly suitable for marketing and based on the articles in this issue of European Journal of Marketing, emphasising the breadth of action research in marketing and its distinctive interest in analytic generalisation, that is, in building a theory that extends beyond the particular situation that is being action researched to other situations.. The three sections of this commentary include: definition of traditional action research, action learning and case research. Second, drawing of four implications from the articles within this special issue about how action research can be done in marketing. Finally, presents a broad definition of action research in marketing.

This article seeks to draw out some of the principles and concepts of action research in order to better inform student work based learning. After an introduction that explains the application of action research to work based learning, the article explores the essence of action research. The action research cycle and the notion of meta learning are introduced. A section on taking action research forward addresses pragmatic issues such as: journal keeping, managing role duality, and managing politics and ethics. Finally suggestions are offered for writing an action research dissertation or work based project report.

Action research has been recognised for its breadth as a field of research practice and its depth as a discourse of theoretical insight. It does not have one neat, widely accepted definition. Points to some reasons for the difficulty of formulating a generally accepted definition of action research, and argues why action research should not be confined but should be both clarified for communication and open for development. The discussion stems from a working definition developed with participants in an international symposium that serves as a classic definition of action research. Presents several alternative approaches to resolution and argues for a judicious mix of pragmatism and flexibility in approaching the definition issue.

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.

Research is important in responding to changing environments. Acquaintance with qualitative research methodologies provides an opportunity for understanding digital and hybrid libraries. This article explores three approaches to research that Library and information professionals can use to structure the way in which they look at their environment, and the organization in and with which they are working: observation, case studies and action research. Four essential considerations for good research are: adding to existing knowledge; a clear purpose or research question; objectivity and reliability; and, access, ethics and politics. Observation can be developed into a research approach through attention to structuring of the observation. Different types of observation are participant and non‐participant, and overt and covert. Case studies are useful for lending a deeper understanding of a situation. Rigour is injected into case study methodology through consideration of questions, propositions, units of analysis, methods of evidence gathering, and the criteria for the interpretation of findings. Action research encourages practitioners to acquire the habit of the researcher in the workplace, and typically has the twin goals of solving a management problem and making a contribution to knowledge. There are two cycles in action research, the action research cycle that relates to the action research project, and the meta‐learning cycle that relates to the learning processes that are part of action research. Common principles that apply to all of these approaches are identified, and suggestions for potential areas of application are made.

Outlines how an action research approach can be used for management training and education. The emphasis on developing competence in problem‐solving processes, using action research, is supported by the literature and this is illustrated by several examples of institutional projects and award‐bearing programmes. Details how the authors’ interpretation of action research, in the school management training context, can both challenge and develop educational leaders.

An action research project is usually restricted to improving one workgroup's practices within one organisation. However, after that project is done, some academics or consultants may want to try to generalise the findings from that one particular project to several other situations. The aim of this paper is to identify the two scientific paradigms appropriate for each of these two purposes, and to identify the criteria that could be used to judge how well each purpose is achieved. Essentially, it argues that the critical theory paradigm underlies the action research project of a workgroup within one organisation, and the realism paradigm underlies the generalisation from those findings to other situations. Criteria from the two paradigms can be used to evaluate the validity and reliability of these two processes. An example of how this has been done in practice, is provided.

Roskilde University was established in Denmark in 1972 as a critical reform university based on the principles of participant directed problem-oriented project learning (PPL). In 2009, the university launched a new master programme in Urban Planning (Planning Studies). This chapter presents experiences from student projects working with action research in facilitating citizen-driven urban development. Firstly, we outline the key theoretical foundations of the Planning Studies programme: planning as social learning, empowerment and social mobilization. Secondly, we describe the principles of the Roskilde University pedagogical model (PPL) rooted in the tradition of experiential and critical pedagogy of Oskar Negt, John Dewey, Paulo Freire and others. Thirdly, we present two cases of problem-oriented projects working with action research in bottom-up urban planning and sustainable transition in Copenhagen. The first case concerns the involvement of local residents in the redesign of a public square through a series of aesthetic experiments. The second case concerns an experiment with alternative transport solutions and sustainable street transition through reduction of private car use and the creation of new public spaces on former parking lots. The article concludes that action research in problem-oriented project work is promising way of involving students in community empowerment processes. Doing action research strengthens the students understanding of ‘the logic of practice’ and their ability to master practical and ethical judgements in complex real-world empowerment and learning processes. This both prepares them for professional practice and provides them with an embodied and pragmatically empowered understanding of how transformations towards a more sustainable and just society can be brought about.

One common feature of different variants of participatory and action research is rejection of technocratic, undemocratic elements in science and inquiry, aiming to break the dominance of traditional academic views of science. These variants open up broader participation of people, and emancipate knowledge creation for the production of actionable knowledge with transformative potentials. The purpose of this chapter is to recognize and clarify a striving for knowledge democracy in these explicit or implicit democratizing ambitions and tendencies in the sense of broadening the participation of concerned parties in research and development work on open and equal terms. This recent concept, still in the process of formulation, has been proposed as a global mobilizing and unifying thinking for distributed networks and movements for participatory oriented research. The concept and movement had an initial embedding in the First Global Assembly for Knowledge Democracy in June 2017, Cartagena, Columbia. The purpose of the chapter is to elaborate on the meaning of knowledge democracy as a vision for the participatory and action research community. Particularly I will distinguish between different orientation to knowledge democracy, and the character of the logic of a more, open, democratic and coproductive science that can be a carrier of it.

In this chapter we discuss how, as a tool for organizational change, action research can affect the development of cooperation between a traditional university and the external environment. The case analyzed was a two-year action research project carried out in cooperation with over 20 employers. This project was carried out at multiple levels and had several essential goals. Apart from its emancipatory role in the shift in the way students carry out their master's theses (toward application, implementation, where organizations become the research subject instead of the research object), the project's aim was to open up the university to cooperation with its environment and conduct useful research. The results indicate that action research through the democratization of the process of introducing changes and its bottom-up nature influences the development of real cooperation between the university and external organizations. Additionally, they contribute to the emancipation of university knowledge, its democratization, dehierarchization, as well as cocreation and sharing with cooperating organizations.