Action Research

1. Action Research Topic Identification Literature Review

2. Identify the topic of the action research study • Broad topic suggestions • Student achievement • Mentoring • Counseling programs • Collaboration • Motivation • Technology • Behavior/discipline • Teacher attrition • Inclusion

3. Additional topics • Needs of at-risk students • Extracurricular participation • Professional development • School climate • Attendance • Team teaching • Dropout prevention • Media services • Parental involvement

4. Framing the problem • Write a brief introductory paragraph on your area of research focus • Write the reflection in the first person • Include the desired outcome and actions you are considering taking • Write a brief description of your educational role • Teacher, administrator, aide • Include grade level, subject area • Include relevant information about the reflective process • How you identified the focus • Ways these processes reflect your core educational values

5. Review of the Literature • Value of: • Provides an opportunity to learn what is already known about the topic • Can learn about other researches successes and failures using various interventions • Helps to clarify the goals of the study • Can discover new strategies that seem to have great potential in the investigation • Provide insight into ways to collect and evaluate data for the project

6. Sources to Use • Books • Journal articles • Conference papers • Educational textbooks • Websites

7. Cautions for Literature Review • Opinion pieces and teachings suggestions • Usually written based on experience and instinct • Contain little or no data to support the authors’ contentions or suggestions • Some published research may contain too much technical statistical information • Question to ask: “Does this study contain the kind of information that help inform my practice as an educator?”

8. Searching for Literature to Review • ERIC • www.eric.ed.gov • ProQuest • University and public libraries • EBSCOhost

9. Journal Websites • Journal websites • www.arexpeditions.montana.edu/index.php • Online journal of teacher action research • www.ecrp.uiuc.edu • Early Childhood Research and Practice • www.asbj.com • American School Board Journal-newspaper type articles on various topics of education • www.ifets.info • Educational Technology & Society-research and commentary on the use of technology in education

10. Journal Websites • www.iupui.edu/-josot • The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning • http:jset.unlv.edu • Journal of Special Education Technology • http:math.coe.uga.edu/TIME/timeonline.html • The Mathematics Educator on line • http:people.ucsc.edu/ • Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research • www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kappan.htm • Phi Delta Kappan • www.readingonline.org • Reading Online

11. Journal Websites • http:thejournal.com • Technological Horizons in Education (T.H.E. Journal • www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/voices • Voices from the Field: action research and topics related to classroom instruction • www.ejse.southwestern.educ • The Electronic Journal of Science Education: Research and literature review related to science education • www.ijea.asu.edu • International Journal of Education in the Arts: Research in the areas of art theory, music, visual arts, etc.

12. Evaluating Literature • Questions to Ask in evaluating the literature: • 1. Relevance • Does the source provide information that can help inform my action research study • 2. Credibility • Are the results of the study supported by data and does the research methods seem sound? • Experiences/credentials of author • 3. Similarity • Is information in the source based on the study of a setting that is similar to mine? • Are the participants similar to mine?

13. Synthesizing Literature • Instead of organizing by source-organize by topic – Create a matrix • Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 • Discipline • Evidence • Methodology • Theoretical Concepts • Conclusions/Answers

14. Writing the Literature Review • Introductory paragraph explains the importance of your topic • Define major terms • Move logically between subtopics and major topics • Use multiple references to support • Use as few direct quotes as possible (cite your sources • Describe your own conclusions based on what you have learned from the review • Provide summaries within topic areas as well as final summaries

15. Some useful tips • In-text citations and verb tense • When citing within text, use past tense or present perfect tense • Past tense: Daniels (2002) reported significant gains …. • Present perfect tense: Daniels (2002) has reported significant gains…..

16. Some useful tips • Citing an author/authors • One author: • Daniels (2002) reported significant gains… • Significant gains were noted in the study (Daniels,2002) • Two authors: • Carter and Doyle (2006) described…. • Narratives are a powerful way to guide reflective practice (Carter & Doyle, 2006). • Three –Five authors: • Cite all authors the first time the reference appears: • Use et al. after the initial citation • Six or more authors: • Use the first author’s name followed by et al.

17. Some useful tips • Citing different sources to support the same idea or within parentheses • Kim (2003) and Jones and Little (2001) have reported… • Significant learning gains have been reported (Jones & Little,2001; Kimm, 2003) (in this case sources are presented in alphabetical order

18. Some useful tips • Indirect sources (used when you cite something read in another source rather than the primary source • Smith (as cited in Weston, 2008) has suggested a ……

19. Some useful tips • Quotes • Use quotes infrequently • Fewer than 40 words in the paragraph itself • Smith (2009) defines reflection as “an intense self study” (p. 23). • Reflection has been defined as “an intense self study” (Smith, 2009, p. 23). • Long quotes are placed in a free standing block with 5 point left ident • Black, Smith, and Jones (2007) explain • At the end of the paragraph (p.8)