Action Research Proposal Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Formulate a one-sentence answer for each question, and then combine them into one paragraph.
1.What is the purpose of your research?
2.What is the context of this problem?
3.What is the scope of this research? How many people, departments, and so on, will be measured or affected?
4.How many AR cycles of discovery, measurable action, and reflection were included?
5.What research questions do you hope to answer?
6.What outcomes do you hope to effect with your actions?
7.Who are the stakeholders for your project?
8.What limitations exist?
9.What contribution do you expect this research to make to yourself, your organization, and your field?

BACKGROUND

Write two to three paragraphs on the context of the problem. Include literature citations as appropriate. Back up
your ideas whenever possible with data. Cite and reference all data sources.

LOCAL CONTEXT

Write two to three paragraphs explaining the local context. Help the reader understand the issues as experienced
locally, as well as the importance of the research. The local context refers to what is currently going on with the
issue. Back up the explanations with citations and references from the literature. Use data to quantify your
ideas, and cite and reference data sources.

PERSONAL CONTEXT

Write two to six paragraphs describing your relationship to and part in this research. Answer the following
questions:

1.What is your relationship to the organization where you will be conducting the research?
2.What permissions are needed for data collection and analysis? From whom do you need to get permission?
Have you already collected those permissions?
3.Will the change you hope to effect be better served with the ongoing support of a team? If so, will you be
gathering a team to conduct PAR? If so, describe the composition of your team, their roles, how often they
will meet, and a timeline for the completion of the project.
4.Describe your personal history in relation to the issue you will be studying and, if a PAR project, your
personal history with the other participants.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
List one to four questions you would like to begin to answer:
1. What new information is needed?
2. What new data is needed?
3. What new types of actions are needed?

Adapted from Action Research for Business, Nonprofit, & Public Administration (p. 1
275), by E.A. James, T. Slater, and A. Bucknam (2012), Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Copyright [2012] by Sage Publications, Inc. 
RESEARCH DESIGN

Insert a beginning paragraph about the proven efficacy of AR, and then answer the following questions under
subheadings relating to each step in the cycle. Each section will likely be three to eight paragraphs with
citations and references from the literature, data from your local context, and explanations as appropriate.

DISCOVERY

1.What discovery questions do you need answered prior to taking action toward your desired outcomes?
a. What data will be examined?
2.What research will be needed, and what tools will be used?
a. What other sources of data may be required, and how will they be gathered?

MEASURABLE ACTIONS

1. Describe the purpose of your measurable actions.

a. What do you hope to accomplish? (To what extent does this accomplishment need to impact humans?)
2. What archival data exists, and how will you secure access or permission to use it?
3. What baseline data is needed, how do you plan to gather it, and from whom?
4. What stakeholders will need to be considered?
a. What forms of data will be most convincing to them?
5. Will there be a population from whom you may have to collect data in order to show relative efficacy of your
action steps? If so, how will you take steps to include a representative sample?
a. Who, if anyone, will be employed to help determine the efficacy of your data collection and analysis of
your action steps?

REFLECTION

1. Describe your reflective tools.

a. How often and under what circumstances will you employ them?
2. Who, if anyone, will be employed to help determine the efficacy of your reflections?
3. How will you record the cycles and your determination of next steps?

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

1. What data source will you gather your data from (organizations, companies, etc.)?
2. Who will you gather your data from?
a. How will they be recruited (individually, as a group)?
b. What is their working relationship to you?
3. What types of data analysis will you engage (Qualitative interviews, surveys, reflective learning, etc.)?

ETHICAL ASSURANCES

1. Who will be included as subjects?

2. In what manner will their data be gathered and recorded?
3. How will you ensure confidentiality of their responses?

Adapted from Action Research for Business, Nonprofit, & Public Administration (p. 2
275), by E.A. James, T. Slater, and A. Bucknam (2012), Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Copyright [2012] by Sage Publications, Inc. 
4. How will you ensure the safety of your data?
5. What are the risks and benefits to the subjects for participation in your research?

EXPECTED RESULTS

1. What do you hope to accomplish?

2. How many cycles of AR do you anticipate engaging in?

DISCUSSION

This section is used to convince your reader that your expected results are reasonable. Back up the previous
section with a short discussion from research literature, literature on the issue you are studying, or on AR
literature.

FOLLOW-ON STUDIES

1. If it is not within your time limitations to fully answer all your research questions, what do you hope to
accomplish?
2. What are the remaining questions, and how will you address them? Over what period of time?

REFERENCES

Include APA-formatted references for all authors, works, and data cited herein.

APPENDENCES
Additional documentation as needed such as surveys, assessments, letters, interview questions, data log,
artifacts etc.

Adapted from Action Research for Business, Nonprofit, & Public Administration (p. 3
275), by E.A. James, T. Slater, and A. Bucknam (2012), Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Copyright [2012] by Sage Publications, Inc.