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Action research
Research Aptitude
Useful for: OSSC Art Education Instructor, OSSC Economics, OSSC English, OSSC Foundation Course, OSSC Geography, OSSC History, OSSC Mathematics, OSSC Odia
Overview
Action research is systematic inquiry by practitioners into their own work to improve it through cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting.
Key points
- Kurt Lewin introduced the term action research in the 1940s.
- Stephen Corey popularised it in education.
- Kemmis and McTaggart described the cycle: plan, act, observe, reflect.
- It is small-scale, practical and context-specific.
- Teachers act as researchers of their own practice.
- Findings improve local practice more than general theory.
Explanation
- Collaborative action research involves colleagues.
- Data can be simple: test scores, observations, student work.
- Reflection leads to the next cycle.
- Ethical care is needed when studying one’s own students.
- Results should be shared with colleagues.
Step by step
- Identify the concept, method or policy asked.
- Recall the definition, thinker, year or rule.
- Apply it to the situation and eliminate extreme options.
Examples
- A teacher notices poor homework completion, tries a homework diary, tracks completion and reflects → action research cycle.
- Two teachers study the effect of group reading on fluency over six weeks → collaborative action research.
- After one cycle, the teacher changes the strategy and repeats → spiral cycle.
Traps and advanced points
- Trap: Treating it as large-scale experimental research.
- Trap: Skipping reflection.
- Trap: Generalising from one class.
Quick revision
- Lewin (1940s); Corey.
- Plan, act, observe, reflect.
- Practitioner-led.
Practice MCQs
Research that studies past events using records is —
- experimental
- historical
- survey
- action
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Answer: (b) historical. Historical research relies on primary and secondary records of the past.
Descriptive research mainly —
- establishes cause and effect
- describes existing conditions
- predicts the future only
- changes variables
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Answer: (b) describes existing conditions. Surveys describe "what is".
Experimental research is used mainly to establish —
- historical facts
- cause-and-effect relationships
- opinions
- definitions
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Answer: (b) cause-and-effect relationships. Variables are controlled and manipulated.
Action research is mainly carried out by —
- external agencies only
- practitioners such as teachers to improve their own practice
- statisticians only
- publishers
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Answer: (b) practitioners such as teachers to improve their own practice. Stephen Corey popularised it in education.
Qualitative research relies mainly on —
- large statistical samples
- interviews, observation and narrative data
- only experiments
- only secondary data
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Answer: (b) interviews, observation and narrative data. It seeks meanings and experiences, not numbers.
The National Research Foundation proposed by NEP 2020 is meant to —
- conduct school exams
- fund and promote research across disciplines
- regulate fees
- appoint vice-chancellors
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Answer: (b) fund and promote research across disciplines. Set up by the ANRF Act, 2023.
The UGC-CARE list relates to —
- college canteens
- quality research journals
- student scholarships
- hostel rules
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Answer: (b) quality research journals. Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics.
The term action research was introduced by —
- Kemmis
- Kurt Lewin
- Stephen Corey
- John Dewey
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Answer: (b) Kurt Lewin. 1940s.
Action research was popularised in education by —
- Kurt Lewin
- Piaget
- Bloom
- Stephen Corey
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Answer: (d) Stephen Corey. Corey.
The action research cycle (Kemmis and McTaggart) is —
- observe only
- plan, act, observe, reflect
- test, rank, punish
- read, write, recite
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Answer: (b) plan, act, observe, reflect. Cycle.
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