Pasts, Presents and Futures: An Overview of the Action Research Family

Abstract

PAtR is a member of the action research (AR) family. AR is an umbrella term that includes participatory research, critical action research, new critical collaborative ethnography, action science, reflective practitioner action, action learning, industrial action research, classroom action research, soft systems approaches, collaborative inquiry, living theory approach, community-based participatory research and critical participatory action research. Many of these terms are used interchangeably, which causes confusion amongst academics and practitioners from all disciplines and professions. In this chapter, we give a brief overview of AR’s salient features and then the historical moves, forces and moments that formed AR as a field today. In doing this, we hope to contribute to a genealogical understanding of its different meanings, ethical commitments and possibilities. Given that what is understood to be AR is named differently in different contexts, this chapter will include consideration of an operational typology to distinguish between approaches and practices.