International perspectives on validity in action research: introduction to the special issue

This special issue has its roots in a series of meetings at the annual EGOS conferences held between 2001 and 2007. The Action Research sub-theme at these annual meetings has attracted almost 200 papers from authors on every continent. A particular focus of the group has been the socio-economic approach to action research developed by Henri Savall and the ISEOR team which discusses what Savall describes as "Generic Contingencies” and a “qualimetrics research methodology” (2003). The meetings have drawn together a truly international grouping of researchers who share a common interest in working closely with the world of practice to “make a difference.