Kurt Lewin

This is the introduction to a series of occasional pieces on action research methodology. The pieces appear at semi-regular intervals of the action research methodology mailing list, "armnet-l". The intention there is that the occasional pieces may provide a trigger for deeper discussions about methodology. They are collected here as they appear on armnet, for ease of access.

There is an index to the pages, below. The origins of armnet-l are relevant here. My reasons for starting it were mainly twofold.

First, there seemed to be a growing interest in qualitative methodologies generally, including action research. So a list on action research methodology seemed timely.

Second, the discussion on arlist-l (a companion action research list) became very technical from time to time. This often displeased many of the participants, some of whom informed me that it was too academic for them. Armnet-l was intended to provide an alternative venue for people who wished to explore issues in a depth that wasn't relevant for most subscribers.

The "occasional pieces" are intended to be consistent with both of these aims.

piece 1 "Good" research

piece 2 What is action research?

piece 3 Critical thinking (1)

piece 4 Critical thinking (2)

piece 5 On maps and territories

piece 6 The ladder of inference

piece 7 Abstraction, and theories

piece 8 Cycles within cycles

piece 9 Cyclic critical reflection

piece 10 Emergent methodologies

piece 11 Participation (1)