An analysis of the theory/concept entries in the SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research : What we can learn about action research in general from the encyclopedia

Abstract

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research consists of 314 entries totaling around 600,000 words by people expert in their topic. What if it was treated as a corpus of data about the current state of action research and related matters? So treated, it can provide a valuable current perspective on what action research is, who uses it for what purpose, and how it is done. A companion paper by Bob Dick reports on what the encyclopedia has to say about current action research methodology. This paper does the same for theories/concepts used in action research. I review and comment on what the encyclopedia says about the broad array of theoretical perspectives and concepts that are often deployed in varying combinations in action research. I emphasize some of the key features of many approaches to action research and make it clear that action researchers borrow eclectically from other fields in orchestrating action research processes.