Action research differs from conventional research methods in three fundamental ways. First, its primary goal is social change. Second, members of the study sample accept responsibility for helping resolve issues that are the focus of the inquiry. Third, relationships between researcher and study participants are more complex and less hierarchical. Most often, action research is viewed as a process of linking theory and practice in which scholar-practitioners explore a social situation by posing a question, collecting data, and testing a hypothesis through several cycles of action. The most common purpose of action research is to guide practitioners as they seek to uncover answers to complex problems in disciplines such as education, health sciences, sociology, or anthropology. Action research is typically underpinned by ideals of social ...