Doing action research in your own organization / David Coghlan & Teresa Brannick.

Previous edition: 2009.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Foundations : -- 1. Introducing Action Research -- Inquiring in your own organization -- A brief introduction to action research -- Three audiences, voices or practices -- Enacting action research cycles -- The action research cycles -- Pre-step: context and purpose -- Main steps -- Meta-learning -- Quality and rigour in action research -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 1.1: Enacting the action research cycles -- 2. Knowing in Action -- Knowing and learning -- General empirical method -- Authenticity -- Action science and collaborative developmental inquiry as first-person practice -- Second-person skills -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 2.1 First-person knowing in action -- Exercise 2.2 Keeping a journal -- Exercise 2.3 Developing inquiry skills -- 3. Understanding Action Research -- Action Research as practical knowing -- The foundations of action research -- The philosophy of action research -- Modalities of action research -- Organization development through action research -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Part II. Implementation : -- 4. Constructing and Selecting Your Insider Project -- Constructing the action research project -- Selecting the research project -- Writing an insider action research proposal -- Developing the action research -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 4.1 Questions for constructing and selecting -- Exercise 4.2 Writing a thesis proposal -- 5. Designing and Implementing Your Action Research Project -- The process of planned change -- Planned change through action research -- Learning mechanisms -- Data generation as intervention -- The role of technology -- How do you know when to stop? -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 5.1 The process of implementation -- Exercise 5. 2 Reflection for praxis -- 6. Interlevel Dynamics in Insider Action Research -- Interlevel dynamics of change -- Interlevel dynamics of strategy -- Levels of analysis in action research -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 6.1 Applying interlevel dynamics -- Exercise 6.2 Change issues -- Exercise 6.3 The learning window -- 7. Using Frameworks to Study Organizations in Action -- Organizational diagnosis -- Systems thinking and practice -- Change and learning -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 7.1 Understanding Your Organization -- Exercise 7.2 Using Systems Thinking -- Part III. Issues And Challenges In Researching Your Own Organization : -- 8. Researching Your Own Organization -- Focus of the researcher and system -- Quadrant 1 -- Quadrant 2 -- Quadrant 3 -- Quadrant 4 -- Action Research at Home -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 8.1 Assessing your research focus -- 9. Preunderstanding, Role Duality and Access -- Preunderstanding -- Role duality: Organizational and researcher roles -- Access -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 9.1 Assessing Your Preunderstanding -- 10. Managing Ethics and Organizational Politics -- Ethics -- Politics -- Integrating roles, politics and ethics -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- Exercise 10.1 Assessing ethics and politics -- Exercise 10.2 Force field analysis -- 11. Writing up Your Insider Action Research Work -- An action research dissertation -- Constructing and writing your dissertation -- Dissemination -- Publishing -- Conclusions -- Recommended reading -- 12. In Conclusion.

"The Fourth Edition of this best-selling book is packed full of practical, expert advice on how to navigate the murky waters of ethics, politics and management in your own organization. Multidisciplinary in its approach to action research, the book sets out a step-by-step template for researchers to follow and adapt."--Publisher's website.