Beyond Action Research

Abstract

In this article we show how the communicative methodology of research (CMR) makes it possible to implement evidence-based policies to improve people's lives. Drawing on theories and methods developed under other paradigms and based on dialogue, the CMR is now a solid body of theory that researchers can put into practice. As researchers engage in egalitarian dialogic interactions with the members of society who are engaged in the research with them, they construct knowledge together. The researchers contribute empirical knowledge to the dialogue, and the social actors contribute by describing, and reflecting on, their life experiences. The final results are oriented toward transforming society through actions based on this jointly developed evidence.