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Chapter 3 Research Framework
a different and valuable type of knowing to academic knowing, thus having the
potential to bridge the two worlds by integrating practitioners and professionals in
the same knowledge generation process.
However, AR is not without its critics. Some argue that it is little more than
consultancy (Avison, 1993), and others argue that the researcher’s level of
involvement in the study can affect the level of objectivity that is required for other
approaches (Avison and Wood-Harper, 1991). McKay and Marshall (2001) pointed
out that this self-involvement of the researcher is one of the distinguishing features
of AR, whereby the researcher is viewed as the key participant in the research
process and works collaboratively with participants to bring about change in the
problem context. It thus represents a juxtaposition of action and research or practice
and theory. The objective stance taken in positivist research, which is suggested to
produce generalisable findings, may in fact produce findings that cannot be applied
in real life. For example, an experiment conducted in the laboratory may struggle to
maintain relevance in the real world. In AR, however, the research is conducted in
real life settings, thus avoiding the potential separation between research and
practice. It is therefore argued that the strengths of AR may outweigh its
weaknesses.
Some argue that AR is just another name for practice development (PD). Carr et al.
(2008) discussed the blurred boundaries between AR and PD and explained that
practice development is usually context-specific and employed with the specific
intention of informing local decision-making or local service provision, while AR is
concerned with the generation of new knowledge that has a degree of transferability
beyond the local setting. Manley and McCormack (2003) stated that practice
development is concerned directly with the world of practice and that it should not
be academicised, which is where AR stems from. Reed (2005) added that AR
provides a means to bring together practitioners and researchers in a collaborative
and inclusive way. Reed (2005) also stated that AR aims to inform and change
practice and develop understanding of the particular context in which it takes place.