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<meta content="McKay, Judy" name="eprints.creators_name" />
<meta content="Marshall, Peter" name="eprints.creators_name" />
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<meta content="Peter.Marshall@utas.edu.au" name="eprints.creators_id" />
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<meta content="2007-11-02 01:26:09" name="eprints.datestamp" />
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<meta content="Action research (AR) is not without its critics, and those who reject some of the paradigmatic assumptions embodied in AR maintain that AR is little more than consultancy, that it is impossible to establish casual relationships, that it is difficult to generalize from AR studies, that there is a risk of researcher bias, and that generally speaking, it lacks some of the key qualities that are normally associated with rigorous research. The authors are sensitive to such criticisms, for although they are committed action researchers, they have elsewhere voiced their concerns about the quality of AR practice in the field of information systems. The authors argue that part of the issue concerns the way in which we currently conceptualize AR. In this article, the argument for a deeper and more reflective analysis of the meaning and full implications of AR is developed, culminating in a model of AR being developed that explicitly includes both a problem solving interest cycle and a research interest cycle. Important implications of this new model are articulated, with examples to illustrate these points being drawn from a real-life AR study." name="eprints.abstract" />
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<meta content="Ackoff, R.L. and Sasieni, M.W. (1968), Fundamentals of Operations Research, John Wiley & Sons,
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experience’’, in Jackson, M.C. et al. (Eds), Systems Thinking in Europe, Plenum Press, New
York,NY.
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ACM, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 94-7.
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method for information systems research’’, Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 11,
pp. 235-46.
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research methods’’, European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 7, pp. 90-107.
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Melbourne.
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Checkland, P. (1991), ``From framework through experience to learning: the essential nature of
action research’’, in Nissen, H.E. et al. (Eds), Information Systems Research: Contemporary
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Proceedings of the UKSS Conference, Lincoln Business School, Lincoln, July.
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in Mingers, J. and Stowell, F. (Eds), Information Systems: An Emerging Discipline?,
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research’’, in Ellis, K. et al. (Eds), Critical Issues in Systems Theory and Practice, Plenum
Press,New York,NY.
Wood-Harper, A.T., Antill, L. and Avison, D.E. (1985), Information Systems Definition: The
Multiview Approach, Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.
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<h1 class="ep_tm_pagetitle">The dual imperatives of action research</h1>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><span class="person_name">McKay, Judy</span> and <span class="person_name">Marshall, Peter</span> (2001) <xhtml:em>The dual imperatives of action research.</xhtml:em> Information Technology and People, 14 (1). pp. 46-59. ISSN 0959-3845</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"></p><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><tr><td valign="top" style="text-align:center"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2378/1/Dual_imperatives_of_ar.pdf"><img alt="[img]" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png" class="ep_doc_icon" border="0" /></a></td><td valign="top"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2378/1/Dual_imperatives_of_ar.pdf"><span class="ep_document_citation">PDF</span></a> - Full text restricted - Requires a PDF viewer<br />458Kb</td><td><form method="get" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/request_doc"><input accept-charset="utf-8" value="3077" name="docid" type="hidden" /><div class=""><input value="Request a copy" name="_action_null" class="ep_form_action_button" onclick="return EPJS_button_pushed( '_action_null' )" type="submit" /> </div></form></td></tr></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block">Official URL: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09593840110384771">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09593840110384771</a></p><div class="not_ep_block"><h2>Abstract</h2><p style="padding-bottom: 16px; text-align: left; margin: 1em auto 0em auto">Action research (AR) is not without its critics, and those who reject some of the paradigmatic assumptions embodied in AR maintain that AR is little more than consultancy, that it is impossible to establish casual relationships, that it is difficult to generalize from AR studies, that there is a risk of researcher bias, and that generally speaking, it lacks some of the key qualities that are normally associated with rigorous research. The authors are sensitive to such criticisms, for although they are committed action researchers, they have elsewhere voiced their concerns about the quality of AR practice in the field of information systems. The authors argue that part of the issue concerns the way in which we currently conceptualize AR. In this article, the argument for a deeper and more reflective analysis of the meaning and full implications of AR is developed, culminating in a model of AR being developed that explicitly includes both a problem solving interest cycle and a research interest cycle. Important implications of this new model are articulated, with examples to illustrate these points being drawn from a real-life AR study.</p></div><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" cellpadding="3" class="not_ep_block" border="0"><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Item Type:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Article</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Keywords:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Information systems, Research, Methodology, Action research</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Subjects:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/280000.html">280000 Information, Computing and Communication Sciences</a></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ID Code:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">2378</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited By:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><span class="ep_name_citation"><span class="person_name">Ms Kristy A Purton</span></span></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited On:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">02 Nov 2007 12:26</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Last Modified:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">09 Jan 2008 02:30</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ePrint Statistics:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a target="ePrintStats" href="/es/index.php?action=show_detail_eprint;id=2378;">View statistics for this ePrint</a></td></tr></table><p align="right">Repository Staff Only: <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View&eprintid=2378">item control page</a></p>
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