The Action Research Dissertation: A Guide for Students and Faculty

The five-chapter social science dissertation generally reigns supreme. However, an increasing number of doctoral candidates are already professionals in their field, and are eager to work on action dissertations, those in which research participants are either in control of the research or are involved with designing and creating methodology for it. Faced with this fundamental shift in expectations, review committees need to assure themselves that action dissertations contain the equivalent academic rigor and contribution to knowledge as do standard dissertations. Herr (education and human services, Montclair State U.) and Anderson (administration, leadership, and technology, New York U.) explain the fine points of the successful action dissertation, and with the help of contributors, describe the practicalities of researching and presenting them to skeptical committees. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Gary L. Anderson is a faculty member in the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology in the Steinhardt School of Education, New York University. He is a former teacher and high school principal.  He has written numerous articles on Action Research, including (with Kathryn Herr)  "The new paradigm wars.   Is there room for rigorous practitioner knowledge in schools and universities?"  Educational Researcher, 28(5), 12-21, (1999).  In recent publications, he has explored applications of Critical and Postmodern Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis to the field of Educational Leadership. 

Kathryn G. Herr is a faculty member in the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. She is co-author of the book Studying Your Own School: An Educator's Guide to Qualitative Practitioner Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1994). She is also Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Youth and Society. Her professional background is in Social Work and Education.