Action research as metamethodology: managing the complexity of an applied research project

A large applied research study is a challenging exercise in project management, often unpredictable because of its complexity. At the beginning, funding bodies, ethics committees and participating organizations expect a plan of what is intended. As the research evolves, researchers must meet the expectations of stakeholders while being responsive to the emergent reality that the research faces and partly uncovers. This paper describes action research used as an umbrella process — a metamethodology — under which these contrasting demands can be satisfied. In particular, two characteristics enable action research to do so. One is its cyclic process, iteratively tracing out a rhythm of planning, acting, and observing the results. The other is the nesting of its cycles, applied at scales ranging from the overall study to the moment-by-moment facilitation. We illustrate this use of action research with examples from a lengthy applied study of leadership in faith-based not-for-profit organizations. The aim of this paper is to describe how action research can be used as a flexible approach to collaborative project management of a research project. In the paper we outline a recent research situation, and describe the characteristics of action research as a metamethodology. We explain two features of action research that can provide flexibility within a planned process: an iterative cycle of planning, action and reflection, and the use of nested cycles that can be applied at any scale. We illustrate the use of action research as metamethodology with examples from the research project