Generalizability

Generalizability and Action Research

In most of its forms, action research can be regarded as alternating between stages of action and reflection. [Page 379]An action is carried out. The researchers then reflect on the action and its outcomes and plan their next actions in the light of their reflection. Through reflection, the researchers increase their understanding both of the situation and of the actions that are likely to improve the situation. To the extent that they and others can use the new understanding elsewhere, generalization is possible, and a contribution to knowledge can be achieved. This is very different from the quantitative research processes for which generalization was first posited as an important characteristic. For traditional research, generalization is powerful when it applies. An expectation has developed in some quarters that all good research should display the same qualities. However, this overlooks two important considerations. One is that in traditional research, the results generalize only to situations in which all and only the same variables are operating. That is rare in field research. The other is that non-experimental forms of research may pursue different outcomes or research situations that are less tractable or observe a different design logic. Generalization may then take different forms or be achieved in different ways.

Unlike traditional quantitative research, much action research uses an emergent process—one that is modified and refined gradually as understanding of the research situation deepens. This has two further implications. The first is that a situation doesn't have to be understood fully at the beginning—and it seldom is. As understanding of the research situation develops, so do the theoretical and practical implications deepen. Second, action researchers may therefore learn as much about the research process and how to modify it as they do about the situation that is being researched and improved. Peter Checkland, writing about the form of action research known as Soft Systems Methodology, has been explicit about this. He strongly urges that the conceptual framework of the research and the intended methodology are specified ahead of time. They are then modified through engagement with the research process.

...