what is plan of action in research

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Action Research: What it is, Stages & Examples

The best way to get things accomplished is to do it yourself. This statement is utilized in corporations, community projects, and national governments. These organizations are relying on action research to cope with their continuously changing and unstable environments as they function in a more interdependent world.

In practical educational contexts, this involves using systematic inquiry and reflective practice to address real-world challenges, improve teaching and learning, enhance student engagement, and drive positive changes within the educational system.

This post outlines the definition of action research, its stages, and some examples.

Content Index

What is action research?

Stages of action research, the steps to conducting action research, examples of action research, advantages and disadvantages of action research.

Action research is a strategy that tries to find realistic solutions to organizations’ difficulties and issues. It is similar to applied research.

Action research refers basically learning by doing. First, a problem is identified, then some actions are taken to address it, then how well the efforts worked are measured, and if the results are not satisfactory, the steps are applied again.

It can be put into three different groups:

• Positivist: This type of research is also called “classical action research.” It considers research a social experiment. This research is used to test theories in the actual world.
• Interpretive: This kind of research is called “contemporary action research.” It thinks that business reality is socially made, and when doing this research, it focuses on the details of local and organizational factors.
• Critical: This action research cycle takes a critical reflection approach to corporate systems and tries to enhance them.

All research is about learning new things. Collaborative action research contributes knowledge based on investigations in particular and frequently useful circumstances. It starts with identifying a problem. After that, the research process is followed by the below stages:

Stage 1: Plan

For an action research project to go well, the researcher needs to plan it well. After coming up with an educational research topic or question after a research study, the first step is to develop an action plan to guide the research process. The research design aims to address the study’s question. The research strategy outlines what to undertake, when, and how.

Stage 2: Act

The next step is implementing the plan and gathering data. At this point, the researcher must select how to collect and organize research data . The researcher also needs to examine all tools and equipment before collecting data to ensure they are relevant, valid, and comprehensive.

Stage 3: Observe

Data observation is vital to any investigation. The action researcher needs to review the project’s goals and expectations before data observation. This is the final step before drawing conclusions and taking action.

Different kinds of graphs, charts, and networks can be used to represent the data. It assists in making judgments or progressing to the next stage of observing.

Stage 4: Reflect

This step involves applying a prospective solution and observing the results. It’s essential to see if the possible solution found through research can really solve the problem being studied.

The researcher must explore alternative ideas when the action research project’s solutions fail to solve the problem.

Action research is a systematic approach researchers, educators, and practitioners use to identify and address problems or challenges within a specific context. It involves a cyclical process of planning, implementing, reflecting, and adjusting actions based on the data collected. Here are the general steps involved in conducting an action research process:

Identify the action research question or problem

Clearly define the issue or problem you want to address through your research. It should be specific, actionable, and relevant to your working context.

Review existing knowledge

Conduct a literature review to understand what research has already been done on the topic. This will help you gain insights, identify gaps, and inform your research design.

Plan the research

Develop a research plan outlining your study’s objectives, methods, data collection tools, and timeline. Determine the scope of your research and the participants or stakeholders involved.

Collect data

Implement your research plan by collecting relevant data. This can involve various methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, document analysis, or focus groups. Ensure that your data collection methods align with your research objectives and allow you to gather the necessary information.

Analyze the data

Once you have collected the data, analyze it using appropriate qualitative or quantitative techniques. Look for patterns, themes, or trends in the data that can help you understand the problem better.

Reflect on the findings

Reflect on the analyzed data and interpret the results in the context of your research question. Consider the implications and possible solutions that emerge from the data analysis. This reflection phase is crucial for generating insights and understanding the underlying factors contributing to the problem.

Develop an action plan

Based on your analysis and reflection, develop an action plan that outlines the steps you will take to address the identified problem. The plan should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals). Consider involving relevant stakeholders in planning to ensure their buy-in and support.

Implement the action plan

Put your action plan into practice by implementing the identified strategies or interventions. This may involve making changes to existing practices, introducing new approaches, or testing alternative solutions. Document the implementation process and any modifications made along the way.

Evaluate and monitor progress

Continuously monitor and evaluate the impact of your actions. Collect additional data, assess the effectiveness of the interventions, and measure progress towards your goals. This evaluation will help you determine if your actions have the desired effects and inform any necessary adjustments.

Reflect and iterate

Reflect on the outcomes of your actions and the evaluation results. Consider what worked well, what did not, and why. Use this information to refine your approach, make necessary adjustments, and plan for the next cycle of action research if needed.

Remember that participatory action research is an iterative process, and multiple cycles may be required to achieve significant improvements or solutions to the identified problem. Each cycle builds on the insights gained from the previous one, fostering continuous learning and improvement.

Explore Insightfully Contextual Inquiry in Qualitative Research

Here are two real-life examples of action research.

Action research initiatives are frequently situation-specific. Still, other researchers can adapt the techniques. The example is from a researcher’s (Franklin, 1994) report about a project encouraging nature tourism in the Caribbean.

In 1991, this was launched to study how nature tourism may be implemented on the four Windward Islands in the Caribbean: St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Vincent.

For environmental protection, a government-led action study determined that the consultation process needs to involve numerous stakeholders, including commercial enterprises.

First, two researchers undertook the study and held search conferences on each island. The search conferences resulted in suggestions and action plans for local community nature tourism sub-projects.

Several islands formed advisory groups and launched national awareness and community projects. Regional project meetings were held to discuss experiences, self-evaluations, and strategies. Creating a documentary about a local initiative helped build community. And the study was a success, leading to a number of changes in the area.

Lau and Hayward (1997) employed action research to analyze Internet-based collaborative work groups.

Over two years, the researchers facilitated three action research problem -solving cycles with 15 teachers, project personnel, and 25 health practitioners from diverse areas. The goal was to see how Internet-based communications might affect their virtual workgroup.

First, expectations were defined, technology was provided, and a bespoke workgroup system was developed. Participants suggested shorter, more dispersed training sessions with project-specific instructions.

The second phase saw the system’s complete deployment. The final cycle witnessed system stability and virtual group formation. The key lesson was that the learning curve was poorly misjudged, with frustrations only marginally met by phone-based technical help. According to the researchers, the absence of high-quality online material about community healthcare was harmful.

Role clarity, connection building, knowledge sharing, resource assistance, and experiential learning are vital for virtual group growth. More study is required on how group support systems might assist groups in engaging with their external environment and boost group members’ learning. 

Action research has both good and bad points.

• It is very flexible, so researchers can change their analyses to fit their needs and make individual changes.
• It offers a quick and easy way to solve problems that have been going on for a long time instead of complicated, long-term solutions based on complex facts.
• If It is done right, it can be very powerful because it can lead to social change and give people the tools to make that change in ways that are important to their communities.

Disadvantages

• These studies have a hard time being generalized and are hard to repeat because they are so flexible. Because the researcher has the power to draw conclusions, they are often not thought to be theoretically sound.
• Setting up an action study in an ethical way can be hard. People may feel like they have to take part or take part in a certain way.
• It is prone to research errors like selection bias , social desirability bias, and other cognitive biases.

LEARN ABOUT: Self-Selection Bias

This post discusses how action research generates knowledge, its steps, and real-life examples. It is very applicable to the field of research and has a high level of relevance. We can only state that the purpose of this research is to comprehend an issue and find a solution to it.

At QuestionPro, we give researchers tools for collecting data, like our survey software, and a library of insights for any long-term study. Go to the Insight Hub if you want to see a demo or learn more about it.

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Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ’s)

Action research is a systematic approach to inquiry that involves identifying a problem or challenge in a practical context, implementing interventions or changes, collecting and analyzing data, and using the findings to inform decision-making and drive positive change.

Action research can be conducted by various individuals or groups, including teachers, administrators, researchers, and educational practitioners. It is often carried out by those directly involved in the educational setting where the research takes place.

The steps of action research typically include identifying a problem, reviewing relevant literature, designing interventions or changes, collecting and analyzing data, reflecting on findings, and implementing improvements based on the results.

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How to write a research plan: Step-by-step guide

Last updated

30 January 2024

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Today’s businesses and institutions rely on data and analytics to inform their product and service decisions. These metrics influence how organizations stay competitive and inspire innovation. However, gathering data and insights requires carefully constructed research, and every research project needs a roadmap. This is where a research plan comes into play.

Read this step-by-step guide for writing a detailed research plan that can apply to any project, whether it’s scientific, educational, or business-related.

• What is a research plan?

A research plan is a documented overview of a project in its entirety, from end to end. It details the research efforts, participants, and methods needed, along with any anticipated results. It also outlines the project’s goals and mission, creating layers of steps to achieve those goals within a specified timeline.

Without a research plan, you and your team are flying blind, potentially wasting time and resources to pursue research without structured guidance.

The principal investigator, or PI, is responsible for facilitating the research oversight. They will create the research plan and inform team members and stakeholders of every detail relating to the project. The PI will also use the research plan to inform decision-making throughout the project.

• Why do you need a research plan?

Create a research plan before starting any official research to maximize every effort in pursuing and collecting the research data. Crucially, the plan will model the activities needed at each phase of the research project .

Like any roadmap, a research plan serves as a valuable tool providing direction for those involved in the project—both internally and externally. It will keep you and your immediate team organized and task-focused while also providing necessary definitions and timelines so you can execute your project initiatives with full understanding and transparency.

External stakeholders appreciate a working research plan because it’s a great communication tool, documenting progress and changing dynamics as they arise. Any participants of your planned research sessions will be informed about the purpose of your study, while the exercises will be based on the key messaging outlined in the official plan.

Here are some of the benefits of creating a research plan document for every project:

Project organization and structure

Well-informed participants

All stakeholders and teams align in support of the project

Clearly defined project definitions and purposes

Distractions are eliminated, prioritizing task focus

Timely management of individual task schedules and roles

Costly reworks are avoided

• What should a research plan include?

The different aspects of your research plan will depend on the nature of the project. However, most official research plan documents will include the core elements below. Each aims to define the problem statement , devising an official plan for seeking a solution.

Specific project goals and individual objectives

Ideal strategies or methods for reaching those goals

Required resources

Descriptions of the target audience, sample sizes , demographics, and scopes

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Project background

Research and testing support

Preliminary studies and progress reporting mechanisms

Cost estimates and change order processes

Depending on the research project’s size and scope, your research plan could be brief—perhaps only a few pages of documented plans. Alternatively, it could be a fully comprehensive report. Either way, it’s an essential first step in dictating your project’s facilitation in the most efficient and effective way.

• How to write a research plan for your project

When you start writing your research plan, aim to be detailed about each step, requirement, and idea. The more time you spend curating your research plan, the more precise your research execution efforts will be.

Account for every potential scenario, and be sure to address each and every aspect of the research.

Consider following this flow to develop a great research plan for your project:

Define your project’s purpose

Start by defining your project’s purpose. Identify what your project aims to accomplish and what you are researching. Remember to use clear language.

Thinking about the project’s purpose will help you set realistic goals and inform how you divide tasks and assign responsibilities. These individual tasks will be your stepping stones to reach your overarching goal.

Additionally, you’ll want to identify the specific problem, the usability metrics needed, and the intended solutions.

Know the following three things about your project’s purpose before you outline anything else:

What you’re doing

Why you’re doing it

What you expect from it

Identify individual objectives

With your overarching project objectives in place, you can identify any individual goals or steps needed to reach those objectives. Break them down into phases or steps. You can work backward from the project goal and identify every process required to facilitate it.

Be mindful to identify each unique task so that you can assign responsibilities to various team members. At this point in your research plan development, you’ll also want to assign priority to those smaller, more manageable steps and phases that require more immediate or dedicated attention.

Select research methods

Once you have outlined your goals, objectives, steps, and tasks, it’s time to drill down on selecting research methods . You’ll want to leverage specific research strategies and processes. When you know what methods will help you reach your goals, you and your teams will have direction to perform and execute your assigned tasks.

Research methods might include any of the following:

User interviews : this is a qualitative research method where researchers engage with participants in one-on-one or group conversations. The aim is to gather insights into their experiences, preferences, and opinions to uncover patterns, trends, and data.

Field studies : this approach allows for a contextual understanding of behaviors, interactions, and processes in real-world settings. It involves the researcher immersing themselves in the field, conducting observations, interviews, or experiments to gather in-depth insights.

Card sorting : participants categorize information by sorting content cards into groups based on their perceived similarities. You might use this process to gain insights into participants’ mental models and preferences when navigating or organizing information on websites, apps, or other systems.

Focus groups : use organized discussions among select groups of participants to provide relevant views and experiences about a particular topic.

Diary studies : ask participants to record their experiences, thoughts, and activities in a diary over a specified period. This method provides a deeper understanding of user experiences, uncovers patterns, and identifies areas for improvement.

Five-second testing: participants are shown a design, such as a web page or interface, for just five seconds. They then answer questions about their initial impressions and recall, allowing you to evaluate the design’s effectiveness.

Surveys : get feedback from participant groups with structured surveys. You can use online forms, telephone interviews, or paper questionnaires to reveal trends, patterns, and correlations.

Tree testing : tree testing involves researching web assets through the lens of findability and navigability. Participants are given a textual representation of the site’s hierarchy (the “tree”) and asked to locate specific information or complete tasks by selecting paths.

Usability testing : ask participants to interact with a product, website, or application to evaluate its ease of use. This method enables you to uncover areas for improvement in digital key feature functionality by observing participants using the product.

Live website testing: research and collect analytics that outlines the design, usability, and performance efficiencies of a website in real time.

There are no limits to the number of research methods you could use within your project. Just make sure your research methods help you determine the following:

What do you plan to do with the research findings?

What decisions will this research inform? How can your stakeholders leverage the research data and results?

Recruit participants and allocate tasks

Next, identify the participants needed to complete the research and the resources required to complete the tasks. Different people will be proficient at different tasks, and having a task allocation plan will allow everything to run smoothly.

Prepare a thorough project summary

Every well-designed research plan will feature a project summary. This official summary will guide your research alongside its communications or messaging. You’ll use the summary while recruiting participants and during stakeholder meetings. It can also be useful when conducting field studies.

Ensure this summary includes all the elements of your research project . Separate the steps into an easily explainable piece of text that includes the following:

An introduction: the message you’ll deliver to participants about the interview, pre-planned questioning, and testing tasks.

Interview questions: prepare questions you intend to ask participants as part of your research study, guiding the sessions from start to finish.

An exit message: draft messaging your teams will use to conclude testing or survey sessions. These should include the next steps and express gratitude for the participant’s time.

Create a realistic timeline

While your project might already have a deadline or a results timeline in place, you’ll need to consider the time needed to execute it effectively.

Realistically outline the time needed to properly execute each supporting phase of research and implementation. And, as you evaluate the necessary schedules, be sure to include additional time for achieving each milestone in case any changes or unexpected delays arise.

For this part of your research plan, you might find it helpful to create visuals to ensure your research team and stakeholders fully understand the information.

Determine how to present your results

A research plan must also describe how you intend to present your results. Depending on the nature of your project and its goals, you might dedicate one team member (the PI) or assume responsibility for communicating the findings yourself.

In this part of the research plan, you’ll articulate how you’ll share the results. Detail any materials you’ll use, such as:

Presentations and slides

A project report booklet

A project findings pamphlet

Documents with key takeaways and statistics

Graphic visuals to support your findings

• Format your research plan

As you create your research plan, you can enjoy a little creative freedom. A plan can assume many forms, so format it how you see fit. Determine the best layout based on your specific project, intended communications, and the preferences of your teams and stakeholders.

Find format inspiration among the following layouts:

Written outlines

Narrative storytelling

Visual mapping

Graphic timelines

Remember, the research plan format you choose will be subject to change and adaptation as your research and findings unfold. However, your final format should ideally outline questions, problems, opportunities, and expectations.

• Research plan example

Imagine you’ve been tasked with finding out how to get more customers to order takeout from an online food delivery platform. The goal is to improve satisfaction and retain existing customers. You set out to discover why more people aren’t ordering and what it is they do want to order or experience. 

You identify the need for a research project that helps you understand what drives customer loyalty . But before you jump in and start calling past customers, you need to develop a research plan—the roadmap that provides focus, clarity, and realistic details to the project.

Here’s an example outline of a research plan you might put together:

Project title

Project members involved in the research plan

Purpose of the project (provide a summary of the research plan’s intent)

Objective 1 (provide a short description for each objective)

Objective 2

Objective 3

Proposed timeline

Audience (detail the group you want to research, such as customers or non-customers)

Budget (how much you think it might cost to do the research)

Risk factors/contingencies (any potential risk factors that may impact the project’s success)

Remember, your research plan doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel—it just needs to fit your project’s unique needs and aims.

Customizing a research plan template

Some companies offer research plan templates to help get you started. However, it may make more sense to develop your own customized plan template. Be sure to include the core elements of a great research plan with your template layout, including the following:

Introductions to participants and stakeholders

Background problems and needs statement

Significance, ethics, and purpose

Research methods, questions, and designs

Preliminary beliefs and expectations

Implications and intended outcomes

Realistic timelines for each phase

Conclusion and presentations

How many pages should a research plan be?

Generally, a research plan can vary in length between 500 to 1,500 words. This is roughly three pages of content. More substantial projects will be 2,000 to 3,500 words, taking up four to seven pages of planning documents.

What is the difference between a research plan and a research proposal?

A research plan is a roadmap to success for research teams. A research proposal, on the other hand, is a dissertation aimed at convincing or earning the support of others. Both are relevant in creating a guide to follow to complete a project goal.

What are the seven steps to developing a research plan?

While each research project is different, it’s best to follow these seven general steps to create your research plan:

Defining the problem

Identifying goals

Choosing research methods

Recruiting participants

Preparing the brief or summary

Establishing task timelines

Defining how you will present the findings

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• What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples

What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples

Published on January 27, 2023 by Tegan George . Revised on January 12, 2024.

Table of contents

Types of action research, action research models, examples of action research, action research vs. traditional research, advantages and disadvantages of action research, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about action research.

There are 2 common types of action research: participatory action research and practical action research.

• Participatory action research emphasizes that participants should be members of the community being studied, empowering those directly affected by outcomes of said research. In this method, participants are effectively co-researchers, with their lived experiences considered formative to the research process.
• Practical action research focuses more on how research is conducted and is designed to address and solve specific issues.

Both types of action research are more focused on increasing the capacity and ability of future practitioners than contributing to a theoretical body of knowledge.

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Action research is often reflected in 3 action research models: operational (sometimes called technical), collaboration, and critical reflection.

• Operational (or technical) action research is usually visualized like a spiral following a series of steps, such as “planning → acting → observing → reflecting.”
• Collaboration action research is more community-based, focused on building a network of similar individuals (e.g., college professors in a given geographic area) and compiling learnings from iterated feedback cycles.
• Critical reflection action research serves to contextualize systemic processes that are already ongoing (e.g., working retroactively to analyze existing school systems by questioning why certain practices were put into place and developed the way they did).

Action research is often used in fields like education because of its iterative and flexible style.

After the information was collected, the students were asked where they thought ramps or other accessibility measures would be best utilized, and the suggestions were sent to school administrators. Example: Practical action research Science teachers at your city’s high school have been witnessing a year-over-year decline in standardized test scores in chemistry. In seeking the source of this issue, they studied how concepts are taught in depth, focusing on the methods, tools, and approaches used by each teacher.

Action research differs sharply from other types of research in that it seeks to produce actionable processes over the course of the research rather than contributing to existing knowledge or drawing conclusions from datasets. In this way, action research is formative , not summative , and is conducted in an ongoing, iterative way.

As such, action research is different in purpose, context, and significance and is a good fit for those seeking to implement systemic change.

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Action research comes with advantages and disadvantages.

• Action research is highly adaptable , allowing researchers to mold their analysis to their individual needs and implement practical individual-level changes.
• Action research provides an immediate and actionable path forward for solving entrenched issues, rather than suggesting complicated, longer-term solutions rooted in complex data.
• Done correctly, action research can be very empowering , informing social change and allowing participants to effect that change in ways meaningful to their communities.

Disadvantages

• Due to their flexibility, action research studies are plagued by very limited generalizability  and are very difficult to replicate . They are often not considered theoretically rigorous due to the power the researcher holds in drawing conclusions.
• Action research can be complicated to structure in an ethical manner . Participants may feel pressured to participate or to participate in a certain way.
• Action research is at high risk for research biases such as selection bias , social desirability bias , or other types of cognitive biases .

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

Action research is conducted in order to solve a particular issue immediately, while case studies are often conducted over a longer period of time and focus more on observing and analyzing a particular ongoing phenomenon.

Action research is focused on solving a problem or informing individual and community-based knowledge in a way that impacts teaching, learning, and other related processes. It is less focused on contributing theoretical input, instead producing actionable input.

Action research is particularly popular with educators as a form of systematic inquiry because it prioritizes reflection and bridges the gap between theory and practice. Educators are able to simultaneously investigate an issue as they solve it, and the method is very iterative and flexible.

A cycle of inquiry is another name for action research . It is usually visualized in a spiral shape following a series of steps, such as “planning → acting → observing → reflecting.”

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

George, T. (2024, January 12). What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/action-research/

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2017). Research methods in education (8th edition). Routledge.

Naughton, G. M. (2001).  Action research (1st edition). Routledge.

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Action Research

What is action research.

Action research is a methodology that emphasizes collaboration between researchers and participants to identify problems, develop solutions and implement changes. Designers plan, act, observe and reflect, and aim to drive positive change in a specific context. Action research prioritizes practical solutions and improvement of practice, unlike knowledge generation, which is the priority of traditional methods.  

© New Mexico State University, Fair Use

Why is Action Research Important in UX Design?

Action research stands out as a unique approach in user experience design (UX design), among other types of research methodologies and fields. It has a hands-on, practical focus, so UX designers and researchers who engage in it devise and execute research that not only gathers data but also leads to actionable insights and solid real-world solutions. 

The concept of action research dates back to the 1940s, with its roots in the work of social psychologist Kurt Lewin. Lewin emphasized the importance of action in understanding and improving human systems. The approach rapidly gained popularity across various fields, including education, healthcare, social work and community development.  

Kurt Lewin, the Founder of social psychology.

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In UX design, the incorporation of action research appeared with the rise of human-centered design principles. As UX design started to focus more on users' needs and experiences, the participatory and problem-solving nature of action research became increasingly significant. Action research bridges the gap between theory and practice in UX design. It enables designers to move beyond hypothetical assumptions and base their design decisions on concrete, real-world data. This not only enhances the effectiveness of the design but also boosts its credibility and acceptance among users—vital bonuses for product designers and service designers. 

At its core, action research is a systematic, participatory and collaborative approach to research . It emphasizes direct engagement with specific issues or problems and aims to bring about positive change within a particular context. Traditional research methodologies tend to focus solely on the generation of theoretical knowledge. Meanwhile, action research aims to solve real-world problems and generate knowledge simultaneously .  

Action research helps designers and design teams gather first-hand insights so they can deeply understand their users' needs, preferences and behaviors. With it, they can devise solutions that genuinely address their users’ problems—and so design products or services that will resonate with their target audiences. As designers actively involve users in the research process, they can gather authentic insights and co-create solutions that are both effective and user-centric.  

Moreover, the iterative nature of action research aligns perfectly with the UX design process. It allows designers to continuously learn from users' feedback, adapt their designs accordingly, and test their effectiveness in real-world contexts. This iterative loop of planning, acting, observing and reflecting ensures that the final design solution is user-centric. However, it also ensures that actual user behavior and feedback validates the solution that a design team produces, which helps to make action research studies particularly rewarding for some brands. 

Designers can continuously learn from users’ feedback in action research and iterate accordingly.

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What is The Action Research Process?

Action research in UX design involves several stages. Each stage contributes to the ultimate goal: to create effective and user-centric design solutions. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the process:  

1. Identify the Problem

This could be a particular pain point users are facing, a gap in the current UX design, or an opportunity for improvement.  

2. Plan the Action

Designers might need to devise new design features, modify existing ones or implement new user interaction strategies.  

3. Implement the Action

Designers put their planned actions into practice. They might prototype the new design, implement the new features or test the new user interaction strategies.  

4. Observe and Collect Data

As designers implement the action they’ve decided upon, it's crucial to observe its effects and collect data. This could mean that designers track user behaviors, collect user feedback, conduct usability tests or use other data collection methods.  

5. Reflect on the Results

From the collected data, designers reflect on the results, analyze the effectiveness of the action and draw insights. If the action has led to positive outcomes, they can further refine it and integrate it into the final design. If not, they can go back to plan new actions and repeat the process.  

An action research example could be where designers do the following: 

Identification : Designers observe a high abandonment rate during a checkout process for an e-commerce website. 

Planning : They analyze the checkout flow to identify potential friction points.  

Action : They isolate these points, streamline the checkout process, introduce guest checkout and optimize form fields.  

Observation : They monitor changes in abandonment rates and collect user feedback.  

Reflection : They assess the effectiveness of the changes as these reduce checkout abandonment.  

Outcome : The design team notices a significant decrease in checkout abandonment, which leads to higher conversion rates as more users successfully purchase goods.  

What Types of Action Research are there?

Action research splits into three main types: technical, collaborative and critical reflection.  

1. Technical Action Research

Technical action research focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a system or process. Designers often use it in organizational contexts to address specific issues or enhance operations. This could be where designers improve the usability of a website, optimize the load time of an application or enhance the accessibility of a digital product.  

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2. Collaborative Action Research

Collaborative action research emphasizes the active participation of stakeholders in the research process. It's about working together to identify issues, co-create solutions and implement changes. In the context of UX design, this could mean that designers collaborate with users to co-design a new feature, work with developers to optimize a process, or partner with business stakeholders to align the UX strategy with business goals.  

3. Critical Reflection Action Research

Critical reflection action research aims to challenge dominant power structures and social injustices within a particular context. It emphasizes the importance of where designers and design teams reflect on the underlying assumptions and values that drive research and decision-making processes. In UX design, this could be where designers question the design biases, challenge the stereotypes, and promote inclusivity and diversity in design decisions.  

What are the Benefits and Challenges of Action Research?

Like any UX research method or approach, action research comes with its own set of benefits and challenges.  

Benefits of Action Research

Real-world solutions.

Action research focuses on solving real-world problems. This quality makes it highly relevant and practical. It allows UX designers to create solutions that are not just theoretically sound but also valid in real-world contexts.  

User Involvement

Action research involves users in the research process, which lets designers gather first-hand insights into users' needs, preferences and behaviors. This not only enhances the accuracy and reliability of the research but also fosters user engagement and ownership long before user testing of high-fidelity prototypes.  

Continuous Learning

The iterative nature of action research promotes continuous learning and improvement. It enables designers to adapt their designs based on users' feedback and learn from their successes and failures. They can fine-tune better tools and deliverables, such as more accurate user personas, from their findings.

Author and Human-Computer Interaction Expert, Professor Alan Dix explains personas and why they are important: 

Challenges of Action Research

Time- and resource-intensive.

Action research involves multiple iterations of planning, acting, observing and reflecting, which can be time- and resource-intensive. 

Complexity of Real-world Contexts

It can be difficult to implement changes and observe their effects in real-world contexts. This is due to the complexity and unpredictability of real-world situations.  

Risk of Subjectivity

Since action research involves close collaboration with stakeholders, there's a risk of subjectivity and bias influencing the research outcomes. It's crucial for designers to maintain objectivity and integrity throughout the research process. 

Ethical Considerations

It can be a challenge to ensure all participants understand the nature of the research and agree to participate willingly. Also, it’s vital to safeguard the privacy of participants and sensitive data.  

Scope Creep

The iterative nature of action research might lead to expanding goals, and make the project unwieldy.  

Generalizability

The contextual focus of action research may limit the extent to which designers can generalize findings from field studies to other settings.  

Best Practices and Tips for Successful Action Research

1. define clear objectives.

To begin, designers should define clear objectives. They should ask the following: 

What is the problem to try to solve? 

What change is desirable as an outcome?  

To have clear objectives will guide their research process and help them stay focused.  

2. Involve Users

It’s vital to involve users in the research process. Designers should collaborate with them to identify issues, co-create solutions and implement changes in real time. This will not only enhance the relevance of the research but also foster user engagement and ownership.  

3. Use a Variety of Data Collection Methods

To conduct action research means to observe the effects of changes in real-world contexts. This requires a variety of data collection methods. Designers should use methods like surveys, user interviews, observations and usability tests to gather diverse and comprehensive data. 

UX Strategist and Consultant, William Hudson explains the value of usability testing in this video: 

4. Reflect and Learn

Action research is all about learning from action. Designers should reflect on the outcomes of their actions, analyze the effectiveness of their solutions and draw insights. They can use these insights to inform their future actions and continuously improve the design.  

5. Communicate and Share Findings

Lastly, designers should communicate and share their findings with all stakeholders. This not only fosters transparency and trust but also facilitates collective learning and improvement.  

What are Other Considerations to Bear in Mind with Action Research?

Quantitative data.

Action research involves both qualitative and quantitative data, but it's important to remember to place emphasis on qualitative data. While quantitative data can provide useful insights, designers who rely too heavily on it may find a less holistic view of the user experience. 

Professor Alan Dix explains the difference between quantitative and qualitative data in this video: 

User Needs and Preferences

Designers should focus action research on understanding user needs and preferences. If they ignore these in favor of more technical considerations, the resulting design solutions may not meet users' expectations or provide them with a satisfactory experience.  

User Feedback

It's important to seek user feedback at each stage of the action research process. Without this feedback, designers may not optimize design solutions for user needs. For example, they may find the information architecture confusing. Additionally, without user feedback, it can be difficult to identify any unexpected problems that may arise during the research process.  

Time Allocation

Action research requires time and effort to ensure successful outcomes. If designers or design teams don’t permit enough time for the research process, it can lead to rushed decisions and sloppy results. It's crucial to plan ahead and set aside enough time for each stage of the action research process—and ensure that stakeholders understand the time-consuming nature of research and digesting research findings, and don’t push for premature results. 

Contextual Factors

Contextual factors such as culture, environment and demographics play an important role in UX design. If designers ignore these factors, it can lead to ineffective design solutions that don't properly address users' needs and preferences or consider their context.  

Professor Alan Dix explains the need to consider users’ culture in design, in this video: 

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Overall, in the ever-evolving field of UX design, this is one methodology that can serve as a powerful research tool for driving positive change and promoting continuous learning. Since to do action research means to actively involve users in the research process and research projects, and focus on real-world problem-solving, it allows designers to create more user-centered designs. These digital solutions and services will be more likely to resonate with the target users and deliver exceptional user experiences.  

Despite its challenges, the benefits of action research far outweigh the risks. Action research is therefore a valuable approach for UX designers who are keen on creating a wide range of impactful and sustainable design solutions. The biggest lesson with action research is to ensure that user needs and preferences are at the center of the research process. 

Learn More about Action Research  

Take our User Research: Methods and Best Practices course.  

Take our Master Class Radical Participatory Design: Insights From NASA’s Service Design Lead with Victor Udoewa, Service Design Lead, NASA SBIR/STTR Program. 

Read more in-depth information in 3 things design thinking can learn from action research by Amin Mojtahedi, PhD . 

Find additional insights in What Technical Communicators and UX Designers Can Learn From Participatory Action Research by Guiseppe . 

Discover more insights and tips in Action Research: Steps, Benefits, and Tips by Lauren Stewart .

Questions related to Action Research

Action research and design thinking are both methodologies to solve problems and implement changes, but they have different approaches and emphases. Here's how they differ:  

Objectives  

Action research aims to solve specific problems within a community or organization through a cycle of planning, action, observation and reflection. It focuses on iterative learning and solving real-world problems through direct intervention.  

Design thinking focuses on addressing complex problems by understanding the user's needs, re-framing the problem in human-centric ways, creating many ideas in brainstorming sessions, and adopting a hands-on approach in prototyping and testing. It emphasizes innovation and the creation of solutions that are desirable, feasible and viable.  

Process  

Action research involves a cyclic process that includes:  

- Identify a problem.  

- Plan an action.  

- Implement the action.  

- Observe and evaluate the outcomes.  

- Reflect on the findings and plan the next cycle. 

Design thinking follows a non-linear, iterative process that typically includes five phases:  

- Empathize: Understand the needs of those you're designing for.  

- Define: Clearly articulate the problem you want to solve.  

- Ideate: Brainstorm a range of creative solutions.  

- Prototype: Build a representation of one or more of your ideas.  

- Test: Return to your original user group and test your idea for feedback.  

User Involvement  

Action research actively involves participants in the research process. The participants are co-researchers and have a direct stake in the problem at hand.  

Design thinking prioritizes empathy with users and stakeholders to ensure that the solutions are truly user-centered. While users are involved, especially in the empathy and testing phases, they may not be as deeply engaged in the entire process as they are in action research.  

Outcome  

Action research typically aims for practical outcomes that directly improve practices or address issues within the specific context studied. Its success is measurable by the extent of problem resolution or improvement.  

Design thinking seeks to generate innovative solutions that may not only solve the identified problem but also provide a basis for new products, services or ways of thinking. The success is often measurable in terms of innovation, user satisfaction and feasibility of implementation.  

In summary, while both action research and design thinking are valuable in addressing problems, action research is more about participatory problem-solving within specific contexts, and design thinking is about innovative solution-finding with a strong emphasis on user needs. 

Take our Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide course. 

To define the research question in an action research project, start by identifying a specific problem or area of interest in your practice or work setting. Reflect on this issue deeply to understand its nuances and implications. Then, narrow your focus to a question that is both actionable and researchable. This question should aim to explore ways to improve, change or understand the problem better. Ensure the question is clear, concise and aligned with the goals of your project. It must invite inquiry and suggest a path towards finding practical solutions or gaining deeper insights. 

For instance, if you notice a decline in user engagement with a product, your research question could be, "How can we modify the user interface of our product to enhance user engagement?" This question clearly targets an improvement, focuses on a specific aspect (the user interface) and implies actionable outcomes (modifications to enhance engagement). 

Take our Master Class Radical Participatory Design: Insights From NASA’s Service Design Lead with Victor Udoewa, Service Design Lead, NASA SBIR/STTR Program.  

Designers use several tools and methods in action research to explore problems and implement solutions. Surveys allow them to gather feedback from a broad audience quickly. Interviews offer deep insights through personal conversations, focusing on users' experiences and needs. Observations help designers understand how people interact with products or services in real environments. Prototyping enables the testing of ideas and concepts through tangible models, and allows for immediate feedback and iteration. Finally, case studies provide detailed analysis of specific instances and offer valuable lessons and insights. 

These tools and methods empower designers to collect data, analyze findings and make informed decisions. When designers employ a combination of these approaches, they ensure a comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand and develop effective solutions. 

CEO of Experience Dynamics, Frank Spillers explains the need to be clear about the problem that designers should address: 

To engage stakeholders in an action research project, first identify all individuals or groups with an interest in the project's outcome. These might include users, team members, clients or community representatives. Clearly communicate the goals, benefits and expected outcomes of the project to them. Use presentations, reports, or informal meetings to share your vision and how their involvement adds value. 

Involve stakeholders early and often by soliciting their feedback through surveys, interviews or workshops. This inclusion not only provides valuable insights but also fosters a sense of ownership and commitment to the project. Establish regular update meetings or newsletters to keep stakeholders informed about progress, challenges and successes. Finally, ensure there are clear channels for stakeholders to share their input and concerns throughout the project. 

This approach creates a collaborative environment where stakeholders feel valued and engaged, leading to more meaningful and impactful outcomes. 

To measure the impact of an action research project, start by defining clear, measurable objectives at the beginning. These objectives should align with the goals of your project and provide a baseline against which you can measure progress. Use quantitative metrics such as increased user engagement, sales growth or improved performance scores for a tangible assessment of impact. Incorporate qualitative data as well, such as user feedback and case studies, to understand the subjective experiences and insights gained through the project. 

Conduct surveys or interviews before and after the project to compare results and identify changes. Analyze this data to assess how well the project met its objectives and what effect it had on the target issue or audience. Document lessons learned and unexpected outcomes to provide a comprehensive view of the project's impact. This approach ensures a holistic evaluation, combining numerical data and personal insights to gauge the success and influence of your action research project effectively. 

Take our Master Class Design KPIs: From Insights to Impact with Vitaly Friedman, Senior UX consultant, European Parliament, and Creative Lead, Smashing Magazine. 

When unexpected results or obstacles emerge during action research, first, take a step back and assess the situation. Identify the nature of the unexpected outcome or obstacle and analyze its potential impact on your project. This step is crucial for understanding the issue at hand. 

Next, communicate with your team and stakeholders about the situation. Open communication ensures everyone understands the issue and can contribute to finding a solution. 

Then, consider adjusting your research plan or design strategy to accommodate the new findings or to overcome the obstacles. This might involve revisiting your research questions, methods or even the design problem you are addressing. 

Always document these changes and the reasons behind them. This documentation will be valuable for understanding the project's evolution and for future reference. 

Finally, view these challenges as learning opportunities. Unexpected results can lead to new insights and innovations that strengthen your project in the long run. 

By remaining flexible, communicating effectively, and being willing to adjust your approach, you can navigate the uncertainties of action research and continue making progress towards your goals. 

Professor Alan Dix explains externalization, a creative process that can help designers to adapt to unexpected roadblocks and find a good way forward: 

Action research can significantly contribute to inclusive and accessible design by directly involving users with diverse needs in the research and design process. When designers engage individuals from various backgrounds, abilities and experiences, they can gain a deeper understanding of the wide range of user requirements and preferences. This approach ensures that the products or services they develop cater to a broader audience, including those with disabilities. 

Furthermore, action research allows for iterative testing and feedback loops with users. This quality enables designers to identify and address accessibility challenges early in the design process. The continuous engagement helps in refining designs to be more user-friendly and inclusive. 

Additionally, action research fosters a culture of empathy and understanding within design teams, as it emphasizes the importance of seeing the world from the users' perspectives. This empathetic approach leads to more thoughtful and inclusive design decisions, ultimately resulting in products and services that are accessible to everyone. 

By prioritizing inclusivity and accessibility through action research, designers can create more equitable and accessible solutions that enhance the user experience for all. 

Take our Master Class How to Design for Neurodiversity: Inclusive Content and UX with Katrin Suetterlin, UX Content Strategist, Architect and Consultant. 

To ensure the reliability and validity of data in action research, follow these steps: 

Define clear research questions: Start with specific, clear research questions to guide your data collection. This clarity helps in gathering relevant and focused data. 

Use multiple data sources: Collect data from various sources to cross-verify information. This triangulation strengthens the reliability of your findings. 

Apply consistent methods: Use consistent data collection methods throughout your research. If conducting surveys or interviews, keep questions consistent across participants to ensure comparability. 

Engage in peer review: Have peers or experts review your research design and data analysis. Feedback can help identify biases or errors, and enhance the validity of your findings. 

Document the process: Keep detailed records of your research process, including how you collected and analyzed data. Documentation allows others to understand and validate your research methodology. 

Test and refine instruments: If you’re using surveys or assessment tools, test them for reliability and validity before using them extensively. Pilot testing helps refine these instruments, and ensures they accurately measure what they intend to. 

When you adhere to these principles, you can enhance the reliability and validity of your action research data, leading to more trustworthy and impactful outcomes. 

Take our Data-Driven Design: Quantitative Research for UX course.  

To analyze data collected during an action research project, follow these steps: 

Organize the data: Begin by organizing your data, categorizing information based on types, sources or research questions. This organization makes the data manageable and prepares you for in-depth analysis. 

Identify patterns and themes: Look for patterns, trends and themes within your data. This might mean to code qualitative data or use statistical tools for quantitative data to uncover recurring elements or significant findings. 

Compare findings to objectives: Match your findings against the research objectives. Assess how the data answers your research questions or addresses the issues you set out to explore. 

Use software tools: Consider using data analysis software, especially for complex or large data sets. Tools like NVivo for qualitative data or SPSS for quantitative data can simplify analysis and help in identifying insights. 

Draw conclusions: Based on your analysis, draw conclusions about what the data reveals. Look for insights that answer your research questions or offer solutions to the problem you are investigating. 

Reflect and act: Reflect on the implications of your findings. Consider how they impact your understanding of the research problem and what actions they suggest for improvement or further investigation. 

This approach to data analysis ensures a thorough understanding of the collected data, allowing you to draw meaningful conclusions and make informed decisions based on your action research project. 

Professor Ann Blandford, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, UCL explains valuable aspects of data collection in this video: 

Baskerville, R. L., & Wood-Harper, A. T. (1996). A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research . Journal of Information Technology, 11(3), 235-246.   

This influential paper examines the philosophical underpinnings of action research and its application in information systems research, which is closely related to UX design. It highlights the strengths of action research in addressing complex, real-world problems, as well as the challenges in maintaining rigor and achieving generalizability. The paper helped establish action research as a valuable methodology in the information systems and UX design fields.  

Di Mascio, T., & Tarantino, L. (2015). New Design Techniques for New Users: An Action Research-Based Approach . In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services Adjunct (pp. 83-96). ACM. 

This paper describes an action research project that aimed to develop a novel data gathering technique for understanding the context of use of a technology-enhanced learning system for children. The authors argue that traditional laboratory experiments struggle to maintain relevance to the real world, and that action research, with its focus on solving practical problems, is better suited to addressing the needs of new ICT products and their users. The paper provides insights into the action research process and reflects on its value in defining new methods for solving complex, real-world problems. The work is influential in demonstrating the applicability of action research in the field of user experience design, particularly for designing for new and underserved user groups. 

Villari, B. (2014). Action research approach in design research . In Proceedings of the 5th STS Italia Conference A Matter of Design: Making Society through Science and Technology (pp. 306-316). STS Italia Publishing.  

This paper explores the application of action research in the field of design research. The author argues that design is a complex practice that requires interdisciplinary skills and the ability to engage with diverse communities. Action research is presented as a research strategy that can effectively merge theory and practice, linking the reflective dimension to practical activities. The key features of action research highlighted in the paper are its context-dependent nature, the close relationship between researchers and the communities involved, and the iterative process of examining one's own practice and using research insights to inform future actions. The paper is influential in demonstrating the value of action research in addressing the challenges of design research, particularly in terms of bridging the gap between theory and practice and fostering collaborative, user-centered approaches to design.  

Brandt, E. (2004). Action research in user-centred product development . AI & Society, 18(2), 113-133.  

This paper reports on the use of action research to introduce new user-centered work practices in two commercial product development projects. The author argues that the growing complexity of products and the increasing importance of quality, usability, and customization demand new collaborative approaches that involve customers and users directly in the development process. The paper highlights the value of using action research to support these new ways of working, particularly in terms of creating and reifying design insights in representations that can foster collaboration and continuity throughout the project. The work is influential in demonstrating the applicability of action research in the context of user-centered product development, where the need to bridge theory and practice and engage diverse stakeholders is paramount. The paper provides valuable insights into the practical challenges and benefits of adopting action research in this domain. 

1. Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (Eds.). (2001). Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice . SAGE Publications.  

This comprehensive handbook is considered a seminal work in the field of action research. It provides a thorough overview of the history, philosophical foundations, and diverse approaches to action research. The book features contributions from leading scholars and practitioners, covering topics such as participatory inquiry, critical action research, and the role of action research in organizational change and community development. It has been highly influential in establishing action research as a rigorous and impactful research methodology across various disciplines. 

 2. Stringer, E. T. (2013). Action Research (4th ed.) . SAGE Publications.  

This book by Ernest T. Stringer is a widely recognized and accessible guide to conducting action research. It provides clear, step-by-step instructions on the action research process, including gathering information, interpreting and explaining findings, and taking action to address practical problems. The book is particularly valuable for novice researchers and practitioners in fields such as education, social work, and community development, where action research is commonly applied. Its practical approach and real-life examples have made it a go-to resource for those seeking to engage in collaborative, solution-oriented research. 

3. McNiff, J. (2017). Action Research: All You Need to Know (1st ed.) . SAGE Publications.   

This book by Jean McNiff provides a comprehensive guide to conducting action research projects. It covers the key steps of the action research process, including identifying a problem, developing an action plan, implementing changes, and reflecting on the outcomes. The book is influential in the field of action research as it offers practical advice and strategies for practitioners across various disciplines, such as education, healthcare, and organizational development. It emphasizes the importance of critical reflection, collaboration, and the integration of theory and practice, making it a valuable resource for those seeking to engage in rigorous, transformative research. 

Answer a Short Quiz to Earn a Gift

What is a primary characteristic of action research in UX design?

• It drives practical changes through iterative cycles.
• It focuses solely on theoretical knowledge.
• It relies on external consultants to dictate changes.

Which type of action research improves system efficiency and effectiveness?

• Collaborative Action Research
• Critical Reflection Action Research
• Technical Action Research

What role do stakeholders play in collaborative action research?

• They participate actively in co-creating solutions.
• They provide financial support only.
• They review and approve final designs.

How do users in action research benefit the design process?

• They help make sure designs meet actual user needs and preferences.
• They help speed up the design process significantly.
• They limit the scope of design innovations.

What is the purpose of the reflection stage in the action research process?

• To document the research process for publication only
• To evaluate the effectiveness of actions and plan further improvements
• To finalize the product design without further changes

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Literature on Action Research

Here’s the entire UX literature on Action Research by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Action Research

Take a deep dive into Action Research with our course User Research – Methods and Best Practices .

How do you plan to design a product or service that your users will love , if you don't know what they want in the first place? As a user experience designer, you shouldn't leave it to chance to design something outstanding; you should make the effort to understand your users and build on that knowledge from the outset. User research is the way to do this, and it can therefore be thought of as the largest part of user experience design .

In fact, user research is often the first step of a UX design process—after all, you cannot begin to design a product or service without first understanding what your users want! As you gain the skills required, and learn about the best practices in user research, you’ll get first-hand knowledge of your users and be able to design the optimal product—one that’s truly relevant for your users and, subsequently, outperforms your competitors’ .

This course will give you insights into the most essential qualitative research methods around and will teach you how to put them into practice in your design work. You’ll also have the opportunity to embark on three practical projects where you can apply what you’ve learned to carry out user research in the real world . You’ll learn details about how to plan user research projects and fit them into your own work processes in a way that maximizes the impact your research can have on your designs. On top of that, you’ll gain practice with different methods that will help you analyze the results of your research and communicate your findings to your clients and stakeholders—workshops, user journeys and personas, just to name a few!

By the end of the course, you’ll have not only a Course Certificate but also three case studies to add to your portfolio. And remember, a portfolio with engaging case studies is invaluable if you are looking to break into a career in UX design or user research!

We believe you should learn from the best, so we’ve gathered a team of experts to help teach this course alongside our own course instructors. That means you’ll meet a new instructor in each of the lessons on research methods who is an expert in their field—we hope you enjoy what they have in store for you!

All open-source articles on Action Research

An Introduction to Action Research

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Cognitive Maps in UX | IxDF

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• Knowledge Base
• Methodology
• What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples

What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples

Published on 27 January 2023 by Tegan George . Revised on 21 April 2023.

Table of contents

Types of action research, action research models, examples of action research, action research vs. traditional research, advantages and disadvantages of action research, frequently asked questions about action research.

There are 2 common types of action research: participatory action research and practical action research.

• Participatory action research emphasises that participants should be members of the community being studied, empowering those directly affected by outcomes of said research. In this method, participants are effectively co-researchers, with their lived experiences considered formative to the research process.
• Practical action research focuses more on how research is conducted and is designed to address and solve specific issues.

Both types of action research are more focused on increasing the capacity and ability of future practitioners than contributing to a theoretical body of knowledge.

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Action research is often reflected in 3 action research models: operational (sometimes called technical), collaboration, and critical reflection.

• Operational (or technical) action research is usually visualised like a spiral following a series of steps, such as “planning → acting → observing → reflecting.”
• Collaboration action research is more community-based, focused on building a network of similar individuals (e.g., college professors in a given geographic area) and compiling learnings from iterated feedback cycles.
• Critical reflection action research serves to contextualise systemic processes that are already ongoing (e.g., working retroactively to analyse existing school systems by questioning why certain practices were put into place and developed the way they did).

Action research is often used in fields like education because of its iterative and flexible style.

After the information was collected, the students were asked where they thought ramps or other accessibility measures would be best utilised, and the suggestions were sent to school administrators. Example: Practical action research Science teachers at your city’s high school have been witnessing a year-over-year decline in standardised test scores in chemistry. In seeking the source of this issue, they studied how concepts are taught in depth, focusing on the methods, tools, and approaches used by each teacher.

Action research differs sharply from other types of research in that it seeks to produce actionable processes over the course of the research rather than contributing to existing knowledge or drawing conclusions from datasets. In this way, action research is formative , not summative , and is conducted in an ongoing, iterative way.

As such, action research is different in purpose, context, and significance and is a good fit for those seeking to implement systemic change.

Action research comes with advantages and disadvantages.

• Action research is highly adaptable , allowing researchers to mould their analysis to their individual needs and implement practical individual-level changes.
• Action research provides an immediate and actionable path forward for solving entrenched issues, rather than suggesting complicated, longer-term solutions rooted in complex data.
• Done correctly, action research can be very empowering , informing social change and allowing participants to effect that change in ways meaningful to their communities.

Disadvantages

• Due to their flexibility, action research studies are plagued by very limited generalisability  and are very difficult to replicate . They are often not considered theoretically rigorous due to the power the researcher holds in drawing conclusions.
• Action research can be complicated to structure in an ethical manner . Participants may feel pressured to participate or to participate in a certain way.
• Action research is at high risk for research biases such as selection bias , social desirability bias , or other types of cognitive biases .

Action research is conducted in order to solve a particular issue immediately, while case studies are often conducted over a longer period of time and focus more on observing and analyzing a particular ongoing phenomenon.

Action research is focused on solving a problem or informing individual and community-based knowledge in a way that impacts teaching, learning, and other related processes. It is less focused on contributing theoretical input, instead producing actionable input.

Action research is particularly popular with educators as a form of systematic inquiry because it prioritizes reflection and bridges the gap between theory and practice. Educators are able to simultaneously investigate an issue as they solve it, and the method is very iterative and flexible.

A cycle of inquiry is another name for action research . It is usually visualized in a spiral shape following a series of steps, such as “planning → acting → observing → reflecting.”

Sources for this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

George, T. (2023, April 21). What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 3 September 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/action-research-cycle/

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2017). Research methods in education (8th edition). Routledge.

Naughton, G. M. (2001).  Action research (1st edition). Routledge.

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What is action research and how do we do it?

In this article, we explore the development of some different traditions of action research and provide an introductory guide to the literature., contents : what is action research ·  origins · the decline and rediscovery of action research · undertaking action research · conclusion · further reading · how to cite this article . see, also: research for practice ..

In the literature, discussion of action research tends to fall into two distinctive camps. The British tradition – especially that linked to education – tends to view action research as research-oriented toward the enhancement of direct practice. For example, Carr and Kemmis provide a classic definition:

Action research is simply a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of these practices, and the situations in which the practices are carried out (Carr and Kemmis 1986: 162).

Many people are drawn to this understanding of action research because it is firmly located in the realm of the practitioner – it is tied to self-reflection. As a way of working it is very close to the notion of reflective practice coined by Donald Schön (1983).

The second tradition, perhaps more widely approached within the social welfare field – and most certainly the broader understanding in the USA is of action research as ‘the systematic collection of information that is designed to bring about social change’ (Bogdan and Biklen 1992: 223). Bogdan and Biklen continue by saying that its practitioners marshal evidence or data to expose unjust practices or environmental dangers and recommend actions for change. In many respects, for them, it is linked into traditions of citizen’s action and community organizing. The practitioner is actively involved in the cause for which the research is conducted. For others, it is such commitment is a necessary part of being a practitioner or member of a community of practice. Thus, various projects designed to enhance practice within youth work, for example, such as the detached work reported on by Goetschius and Tash (1967) could be talked of as action research.

Kurt Lewin is generally credited as the person who coined the term ‘action research’:

The research needed for social practice can best be characterized as research for social management or social engineering. It is a type of action-research, a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action, and research leading to social action. Research that produces nothing but books will not suffice (Lewin 1946, reproduced in Lewin 1948: 202-3)

His approach involves a spiral of steps, ‘each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action’ ( ibid. : 206). The basic cycle involves the following:

This is how Lewin describes the initial cycle:

The first step then is to examine the idea carefully in the light of the means available. Frequently more fact-finding about the situation is required. If this first period of planning is successful, two items emerge: namely, “an overall plan” of how to reach the objective and secondly, a decision in regard to the first step of action. Usually this planning has also somewhat modified the original idea. ( ibid. : 205)

The next step is ‘composed of a circle of planning, executing, and reconnaissance or fact-finding for the purpose of evaluating the results of the second step, and preparing the rational basis for planning the third step, and for perhaps modifying again the overall plan’ ( ibid. : 206). What we can see here is an approach to research that is oriented to problem-solving in social and organizational settings, and that has a form that parallels Dewey’s conception of learning from experience.

The approach, as presented, does take a fairly sequential form – and it is open to a literal interpretation. Following it can lead to practice that is ‘correct’ rather than ‘good’ – as we will see. It can also be argued that the model itself places insufficient emphasis on analysis at key points. Elliott (1991: 70), for example, believed that the basic model allows those who use it to assume that the ‘general idea’ can be fixed in advance, ‘that “reconnaissance” is merely fact-finding, and that “implementation” is a fairly straightforward process’. As might be expected there was some questioning as to whether this was ‘real’ research. There were questions around action research’s partisan nature – the fact that it served particular causes.

The decline and rediscovery of action research

Action research did suffer a decline in favour during the 1960s because of its association with radical political activism (Stringer 2007: 9). There were, and are, questions concerning its rigour, and the training of those undertaking it. However, as Bogdan and Biklen (1992: 223) point out, research is a frame of mind – ‘a perspective that people take toward objects and activities’. Once we have satisfied ourselves that the collection of information is systematic and that any interpretations made have a proper regard for satisfying truth claims, then much of the critique aimed at action research disappears. In some of Lewin’s earlier work on action research (e.g. Lewin and Grabbe 1945), there was a tension between providing a rational basis for change through research, and the recognition that individuals are constrained in their ability to change by their cultural and social perceptions, and the systems of which they are a part. Having ‘correct knowledge’ does not of itself lead to change, attention also needs to be paid to the ‘matrix of cultural and psychic forces’ through which the subject is constituted (Winter 1987: 48).

Subsequently, action research has gained a significant foothold both within the realm of community-based, and participatory action research; and as a form of practice-oriented to the improvement of educative encounters (e.g. Carr and Kemmis 1986).

Exhibit 1: Stringer on community-based action research

A fundamental premise of community-based action research is that it commences with an interest in the problems of a group, a community, or an organization. Its purpose is to assist people in extending their understanding of their situation and thus resolving problems that confront them….

Community-based action research is always enacted through an explicit set of social values. In modern, democratic social contexts, it is seen as a process of inquiry that has the following characteristics:

• It is democratic , enabling the participation of all people.

• It is equitable , acknowledging people’s equality of worth.

• It is liberating , providing freedom from oppressive, debilitating conditions.

• It is life enhancing , enabling the expression of people’s full human potential.

(Stringer 1999: 9-10)

Undertaking action research

As Thomas (2017: 154) put it, the central aim is change, ‘and the emphasis is on problem-solving in whatever way is appropriate’. It can be seen as a conversation rather more than a technique (McNiff et. al. ). It is about people ‘thinking for themselves and making their own choices, asking themselves what they should do and accepting the consequences of their own actions’ (Thomas 2009: 113).

The action research process works through three basic phases:

Look -building a picture and gathering information. When evaluating we define and describe the problem to be investigated and the context in which it is set. We also describe what all the participants (educators, group members, managers etc.) have been doing.

Think – interpreting and explaining. When evaluating we analyse and interpret the situation. We reflect on what participants have been doing. We look at areas of success and any deficiencies, issues or problems.

Act – resolving issues and problems. In evaluation we judge the worth, effectiveness, appropriateness, and outcomes of those activities. We act to formulate solutions to any problems. (Stringer 1999: 18; 43-44;160)

The use of action research to deepen and develop classroom practice has grown into a strong tradition of practice (one of the first examples being the work of Stephen Corey in 1949). For some, there is an insistence that action research must be collaborative and entail groupwork.

Action research is a form of collective self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own social or educational practices, as well as their understanding of those practices and the situations in which the practices are carried out… The approach is only action research when it is collaborative, though it is important to realise that action research of the group is achieved through the critically examined action of individual group members. (Kemmis and McTaggart 1988: 5-6)

Just why it must be collective is open to some question and debate (Webb 1996), but there is an important point here concerning the commitments and orientations of those involved in action research.

One of the legacies Kurt Lewin left us is the ‘action research spiral’ – and with it there is the danger that action research becomes little more than a procedure. It is a mistake, according to McTaggart (1996: 248) to think that following the action research spiral constitutes ‘doing action research’. He continues, ‘Action research is not a ‘method’ or a ‘procedure’ for research but a series of commitments to observe and problematize through practice a series of principles for conducting social enquiry’. It is his argument that Lewin has been misunderstood or, rather, misused. When set in historical context, while Lewin does talk about action research as a method, he is stressing a contrast between this form of interpretative practice and more traditional empirical-analytic research. The notion of a spiral may be a useful teaching device – but it is all too easy to slip into using it as the template for practice (McTaggart 1996: 249).

Further reading

This select, annotated bibliography has been designed to give a flavour of the possibilities of action research and includes some useful guides to practice. As ever, if you have suggestions about areas or specific texts for inclusion, I’d like to hear from you.

Explorations of action research

Atweh, B., Kemmis, S. and Weeks, P. (eds.) (1998) Action Research in Practice: Partnership for Social Justice in Education, London: Routledge. Presents a collection of stories from action research projects in schools and a university. The book begins with theme chapters discussing action research, social justice and partnerships in research. The case study chapters cover topics such as: school environment – how to make a school a healthier place to be; parents – how to involve them more in decision-making; students as action researchers; gender – how to promote gender equity in schools; writing up action research projects.

Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986) Becoming Critical. Education, knowledge and action research , Lewes: Falmer. Influential book that provides a good account of ‘action research’ in education. Chapters on teachers, researchers and curriculum; the natural scientific view of educational theory and practice; the interpretative view of educational theory and practice; theory and practice – redefining the problem; a critical approach to theory and practice; towards a critical educational science; action research as critical education science; educational research, educational reform and the role of the profession.

Carson, T. R. and Sumara, D. J. (ed.) (1997) Action Research as a Living Practice , New York: Peter Lang. 140 pages. Book draws on a wide range of sources to develop an understanding of action research. Explores action research as a lived practice, ‘that asks the researcher to not only investigate the subject at hand but, as well, to provide some account of the way in which the investigation both shapes and is shaped by the investigator.

Dadds, M. (1995) Passionate Enquiry and School Development. A story about action research , London: Falmer. 192 + ix pages. Examines three action research studies undertaken by a teacher and how they related to work in school – how she did the research, the problems she experienced, her feelings, the impact on her feelings and ideas, and some of the outcomes. In his introduction, John Elliot comments that the book is ‘the most readable, thoughtful, and detailed study of the potential of action-research in professional education that I have read’.

Ghaye, T. and Wakefield, P. (eds.) CARN Critical Conversations. Book one: the role of the self in action , Bournemouth: Hyde Publications. 146 + xiii pages. Collection of five pieces from the Classroom Action Research Network. Chapters on: dialectical forms; graduate medical education – research’s outer limits; democratic education; managing action research; writing up.

McNiff, J. (1993) Teaching as Learning: An Action Research Approach , London: Routledge. Argues that educational knowledge is created by individual teachers as they attempt to express their own values in their professional lives. Sets out familiar action research model: identifying a problem, devising, implementing and evaluating a solution and modifying practice. Includes advice on how working in this way can aid the professional development of action researcher and practitioner.

Quigley, B. A. and Kuhne, G. W. (eds.) (1997) Creating Practical Knowledge Through Action Research, San Fransisco: Jossey Bass. Guide to action research that outlines the action research process, provides a project planner, and presents examples to show how action research can yield improvements in six different settings, including a hospital, a university and a literacy education program.

Plummer, G. and Edwards, G. (eds.) CARN Critical Conversations. Book two: dimensions of action research – people, practice and power , Bournemouth: Hyde Publications. 142 + xvii pages. Collection of five pieces from the Classroom Action Research Network. Chapters on: exchanging letters and collaborative research; diary writing; personal and professional learning – on teaching and self-knowledge; anti-racist approaches; psychodynamic group theory in action research.

Whyte, W. F. (ed.) (1991) Participatory Action Research , Newbury Park: Sage. 247 pages. Chapters explore the development of participatory action research and its relation with action science and examine its usages in various agricultural and industrial settings

Zuber-Skerritt, O. (ed.) (1996) New Directions in Action Research , London; Falmer Press. 266 + xii pages. A useful collection that explores principles and procedures for critical action research; problems and suggested solutions; and postmodernism and critical action research.

Action research guides

Coghlan, D. and Brannick, D. (2000) Doing Action Research in your own Organization, London: Sage. 128 pages. Popular introduction. Part one covers the basics of action research including the action research cycle, the role of the ‘insider’ action researcher and the complexities of undertaking action research within your own organisation. Part two looks at the implementation of the action research project (including managing internal politics and the ethics and politics of action research). New edition due late 2004.

Elliot, J. (1991) Action Research for Educational Change , Buckingham: Open University Press. 163 + x pages Collection of various articles written by Elliot in which he develops his own particular interpretation of action research as a form of teacher professional development. In some ways close to a form of ‘reflective practice’. Chapter 6, ‘A practical guide to action research’ – builds a staged model on Lewin’s work and on developments by writers such as Kemmis.

Johnson, A. P. (2007) A short guide to action research 3e. Allyn and Bacon. Popular step by step guide for master’s work.

Macintyre, C. (2002) The Art of the Action Research in the Classroom , London: David Fulton. 138 pages. Includes sections on action research, the role of literature, formulating a research question, gathering data, analysing data and writing a dissertation. Useful and readable guide for students.

McNiff, J., Whitehead, J., Lomax, P. (2003) You and Your Action Research Project , London: Routledge. Practical guidance on doing an action research project.Takes the practitioner-researcher through the various stages of a project. Each section of the book is supported by case studies

Stringer, E. T. (2007) Action Research: A handbook for practitioners 3e , Newbury Park, ca.: Sage. 304 pages. Sets community-based action research in context and develops a model. Chapters on information gathering, interpretation, resolving issues; legitimacy etc. See, also Stringer’s (2003) Action Research in Education , Prentice-Hall.

Winter, R. (1989) Learning From Experience. Principles and practice in action research , Lewes: Falmer Press. 200 + 10 pages. Introduces the idea of action research; the basic process; theoretical issues; and provides six principles for the conduct of action research. Includes examples of action research. Further chapters on from principles to practice; the learner’s experience; and research topics and personal interests.

Action research in informal education

Usher, R., Bryant, I. and Johnston, R. (1997) Adult Education and the Postmodern Challenge. Learning beyond the limits , London: Routledge. 248 + xvi pages. Has some interesting chapters that relate to action research: on reflective practice; changing paradigms and traditions of research; new approaches to research; writing and learning about research.

Other references

Bogdan, R. and Biklen, S. K. (1992) Qualitative Research For Education , Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Goetschius, G. and Tash, J. (1967) Working with the Unattached , London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

McTaggart, R. (1996) ‘Issues for participatory action researchers’ in O. Zuber-Skerritt (ed.) New Directions in Action Research , London: Falmer Press.

McNiff, J., Lomax, P. and Whitehead, J. (2003) You and Your Action Research Project 2e. London: Routledge.

Thomas, G. (2017). How to do your Research Project. A guide for students in education and applied social sciences . 3e. London: Sage.

Acknowledgements : spiral by Michèle C. | flickr ccbyncnd2 licence

How to cite this article : Smith, M. K. (1996; 2001, 2007, 2017) What is action research and how do we do it?’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. [ https://infed.org/mobi/action-research/ . Retrieved: insert date] .

© Mark K. Smith 1996; 2001, 2007, 2017

Action Research: Steps, Benefits, and Tips

Introduction

History of action research, what is the definition of action research, types of action research, conducting action research.

Action research is an approach to qualitative inquiry in social science research that involves the search for practical solutions to everyday issues. Rooted in real-world problems, it seeks not just to understand but also to act, bringing about positive change in specific contexts. Often distinguished by its collaborative nature, the action research process goes beyond traditional research paradigms by emphasizing the involvement of those being studied in resolving social conflicts and effecting positive change.

The value of action research lies not just in its outcomes, but also in the process itself, where stakeholders become active participants rather than mere subjects. In this article, we'll examine action research in depth, shedding light on its history, principles, and types of action research.

Tracing its roots back to the mid-20th century, Kurt Lewin developed classical action research as a response to traditional research methods in the social sciences that often sidelined the very communities they studied. Proponents of action research championed the idea that research should not just be an observational exercise but an actionable one that involves devising practical solutions. Advocates believed in the idea of research leading to immediate social action, emphasizing the importance of involving the community in the process.

Applications for action research

Over the years, action research has evolved and diversified. From its early applications in social psychology and organizational development, it has branched out into various fields such as education, healthcare, and community development, informing questions around improving schools, minority problems, and more. This growth wasn't just in application, but also in its methodologies.

How is action research different?

Like all research methodologies, effective action research generates knowledge. However, action research stands apart in its commitment to instigate tangible change. Traditional research often places emphasis on passive observation , employing data collection methods primarily to contribute to broader theoretical frameworks . In contrast, action research is inherently proactive, intertwining the acts of observing and acting.

The primary goal isn't just to understand a problem but to solve or alleviate it. Action researchers partner closely with communities, ensuring that the research process directly benefits those involved. This collaboration often leads to immediate interventions, tweaks, or solutions applied in real-time, marking a departure from other forms of research that might wait until the end of a study to make recommendations.

This proactive, change-driven nature makes action research particularly impactful in settings where immediate change is not just beneficial but essential.

Action research is best understood as a systematic approach to cooperative inquiry. Unlike traditional research methodologies that might primarily focus on generating knowledge, action research emphasizes producing actionable solutions for pressing real-world challenges.

This form of research undertakes a cyclic and reflective journey, typically cycling through stages of planning , acting, observing, and reflecting. A defining characteristic of action research is the collaborative spirit it embodies, often dissolving the rigid distinction between the researcher and the researched, leading to mutual learning and shared outcomes.

Advantages of action research

One of the foremost benefits of action research is the immediacy of its application. Since the research is embedded within real-world issues, any findings or solutions derived can often be integrated straightaway, catalyzing prompt improvements within the concerned community or organization. This immediacy is coupled with the empowering nature of the methodology. Participants aren't mere subjects; they actively shape the research process, giving them a tangible sense of ownership over both the research journey and its eventual outcomes.

Moreover, the inherent adaptability of action research allows researchers to tweak their approaches responsively based on live feedback. This ensures the research remains rooted in the evolving context, capturing the nuances of the situation and making any necessary adjustments. Lastly, this form of research tends to offer a comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand, harmonizing socially constructed theoretical knowledge with hands-on insights, leading to a richer, more textured understanding.

Disadvantages of action research

Like any methodology, action research isn't devoid of challenges. Its iterative nature, while beneficial, can extend timelines. Researchers might find themselves engaged in multiple cycles of observation, reflection, and action before arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. The intimate involvement of the researcher with the research participants , although crucial for collaboration, opens doors to potential conflicts. Through collaborative problem solving, disagreements can lead to richer and more nuanced solutions, but it can take considerable time and effort.

Another limitation stems from its focus on a specific context: results derived from a particular action research project might not always resonate or be applicable in a different context or with a different group. Lastly, the depth of collaboration this methodology demands means all stakeholders need to be deeply invested, and such a level of commitment might not always be feasible.

Examples of action research

To illustrate, let's consider a few scenarios. Imagine a classroom where a teacher observes dwindling student participation. Instead of sticking to conventional methods, the teacher experiments with introducing group-based activities. As the outcomes unfold, the teacher continually refines the approach based on student feedback, eventually leading to a teaching strategy that rejuvenates student engagement.

In a healthcare context, hospital staff who recognize growing patient anxiety related to certain procedures might innovate by introducing a new patient-informing protocol. As they study the effects of this change, they could, through iterations, sculpt a procedure that diminishes patient anxiety.

Similarly, in the realm of community development, a community grappling with the absence of child-friendly public spaces might collaborate with local authorities to conceptualize a park. As they monitor its utilization and societal impact, continual feedback could refine the park's infrastructure and design.

Contemporary action research, while grounded in the core principles of collaboration, reflection, and change, has seen various adaptations tailored to the specific needs of different contexts and fields. These adaptations have led to the emergence of distinct types of action research, each with its unique emphasis and approach.

Collaborative action research

Collaborative action research emphasizes the joint efforts of professionals, often from the same field, working together to address common concerns or challenges. In this approach, there's a strong emphasis on shared responsibility, mutual respect, and co-learning. For example, a group of classroom teachers might collaboratively investigate methods to improve student literacy, pooling their expertise and resources to devise, implement, and refine strategies for improving teaching.

Participatory action research

Participatory action research (PAR) goes a step further in dissolving the barriers between the researcher and the researched. It actively involves community members or stakeholders not just as participants, but as equal partners in the entire research process. PAR is deeply democratic and seeks to empower participants, fostering a sense of agency and ownership. For instance, a participatory research project might involve local residents in studying and addressing community health concerns, ensuring that the research process and outcomes are both informed by and beneficial to the community itself.

Educational action research

Educational action research is tailored specifically to practical educational contexts. Here, educators take on the dual role of teacher and researcher, seeking to improve teaching practices, curricula, classroom dynamics, or educational evaluation. This type of research is cyclical, with educators implementing changes, observing outcomes, and reflecting on results to continually enhance the educational experience. An example might be a teacher studying the impact of technology integration in her classroom, adjusting strategies based on student feedback and learning outcomes.

Community-based action research

Another noteworthy type is community-based action research, which focuses primarily on community development and well-being. Rooted in the principles of social justice, this approach emphasizes the collective power of community members to identify, study, and address their challenges. It's particularly powerful in grassroots movements and local development projects where community insights and collaboration drive meaningful, sustainable change.

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Engaging in action research is both an enlightening and transformative journey, rooted in practicality yet deeply connected to theory. For those embarking on this path, understanding the essentials of an action research study and the significance of a research cycle is paramount.

Understanding the action research cycle

At the heart of action research is its cycle, a structured yet adaptable framework guiding the research. This cycle embodies the iterative nature of action research, emphasizing that learning and change evolve through repetition and reflection.

The typical stages include:

• Identifying a problem : This is the starting point where the action researcher pinpoints a pressing issue or challenge that demands attention.
• Planning : Here, the researcher devises an action research strategy aimed at addressing the identified problem. In action research, network resources, participant consultation, and the literature review are core components in planning.
• Action : The planned strategies are then implemented in this stage. This 'action' phase is where theoretical knowledge meets practical application.
• Observation : Post-implementation, the researcher observes the outcomes and effects of the action. This stage ensures that the research remains grounded in the real-world context.
• Critical reflection : This part of the cycle involves analyzing the observed results to draw conclusions about their effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
• Revision : Based on the insights from reflection, the initial plan is revised, marking the beginning of another cycle.

Rigorous research and iteration

It's essential to understand that while action research is deeply practical, it doesn't sacrifice rigor . The cyclical process ensures that the research remains thorough and robust. Each iteration of the cycle in an action research project refines the approach, drawing it closer to an effective solution.

The role of the action researcher

The action researcher stands at the nexus of theory and practice. Not just an observer, the researcher actively engages with the study's participants, collaboratively navigating through the research cycle by conducting interviews, participant observations, and member checking . This close involvement ensures that the study remains relevant, timely, and responsive.

Drawing conclusions and informing theory

As the research progresses through multiple iterations of data collection and data analysis , drawing conclusions becomes an integral aspect. These conclusions, while immediately beneficial in addressing the practical issue at hand, also serve a broader purpose. They inform theory, enriching the academic discourse and providing valuable insights for future research.

Identifying actionable insights

Keep in mind that action research should facilitate implications for professional practice as well as space for systematic inquiry. As you draw conclusions about the knowledge generated from action research, consider how this knowledge can create new forms of solutions to the pressing concern you set out to address.

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This part of the module asks you to build upon some of the ideas you have already generated as you continue to put yourself in the role of scholar, by developing a sample action research project. Read back through the notes you made when brainstorming your problem of practice and while reading research related to this area of inquiry. Then write an action research proposal with the components below. 

• Introduction: Problem Statement - You have already defined a “problem of practice” within your own teaching. Consider whether you want to redefine or refine any of the ideas you brainstormed earlier. Then write a short paragraph pulling your description of the problem, explanation of how it relates to expectations you and others have about teaching and learning in your program, and why this problem is important. 
• What is the background of this topic or focus and why is that background important to understand?
• What is the context of previous work that has been done on this topic? 
• To what else does the topic relate? 
• How can I situate my study within related professional literature? 
• What is the theoretical framework that I bring to this study? 
• What are the areas of research and specific research studies that relate to my study? 
• What are related professional references (research, theory, and/or practice) that inform me? 
• How do learners explain their choice of pronouns following a series of role play activities? 
• Does their reflection on pronoun choice impact their language use in later activities? 
• Action Plan - This includes a description of the instruction that will accompany your action research project. This should be as detailed as possible and can include the materials and lesson plans to be used.  

As you complete the plan, consider what kinds of resources you would need to carry out this work. What would be the most difficult part for you? 

You can use an app such as Trello or Miro to create a project board to organize your action plan into more discrete tasks and activities. 

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What is Action Research?

Considerations, creating a plan of action.

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Action research is a qualitative method that focuses on solving problems in social systems, such as schools and other organizations. The emphasis is on solving the presenting problem by generating knowledge and taking action within the social system in which the problem is located. The goal is to generate shared knowledge of how to address the problem by bridging the theory-practice gap (Bourner & Brook, 2019). A general definition of action research is the following: “Action research brings together action and reflection, as well as theory and practice, in participation with others, in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern” (Bradbury, 2015, p. 1). Johnson (2019) defines action research in the field of education as “the process of studying a school, classroom, or teacher-learning situation with the purpose of understanding and improving the quality of actions or instruction” (p.255).

Origins of Action Research

Kurt Lewin is typically credited with being the primary developer of Action Research in the 1940s. Lewin stated that action research can “transform…unrelated individuals, frequently opposed in their outlook and their interests, into cooperative teams, not on the basis of sweetness but on the basis of readiness to face difficulties realistically, to apply honest fact-finding, and to work together to overcome them” (1946, p.211).

Sample Action Research Topics

Some sample action research topics might be the following:

• Examining how classroom teachers perceive and implement new strategies in the classroom--How is the strategy being used? How do students respond to the strategy? How does the strategy inform and change classroom practices? Does the new skill improve test scores? Do classroom teachers perceive the strategy as effective for student learning?
• Examining how students are learning a particular content or objectives--What seems to be effective in enhancing student learning? What skills need to be reinforced? How do students respond to the new content? What is the ability of students to understand the new content?
• Examining how education stakeholders (administrator, parents, teachers, students, etc.) make decisions as members of the school’s improvement team--How are different stakeholders encouraged to participate? How is power distributed? How is equity demonstrated? How is each voice valued? How are priorities and initiatives determined? How does the team evaluate its processes to determine effectiveness?
• Examining the actions that school staff take to create an inclusive and welcoming school climate--Who makes and implements the actions taken to create the school climate? Do members of the school community (teachers, staff, students) view the school climate as inclusive? Do members of the school community feel welcome in the school? How are members of the school community encouraged to become involved in school activities? What actions can school staff take to help others feel a part of the school community?
• Examining the perceptions of teachers with regard to the learning strategies that are more effective with special populations, such as special education students, English Language Learners, etc.—What strategies are perceived to be more effective? How do teachers plan instructionally for unique learners such as special education students or English Language Learners? How do teachers deal with the challenges presented by unique learners such as special education students or English Language Learners? What supports do teachers need (e.g., professional development, training, coaching) to more effectively deliver instruction to unique learners such as special education students or English Language Learners?

Remember—The goal of action research is to find out how individuals perceive and act in a situation so the researcher can develop a plan of action to improve the educational organization. While these topics listed here can be explored using other research designs, action research is the design to use if the outcome is to develop a plan of action for addressing and improving upon a situation in the educational organization.

Considerations for Determining Whether to Use Action Research in an Applied Dissertation

• When considering action research, first determine the problem and the change that needs to occur as a result of addressing the problem (i.e., research problem and research purpose). Remember, the goal of action research is to change how individuals address a particular problem or situation in a way that results in improved practices.
• If the study will be conducted at a school site or educational organization, you may need site permission. Determine whether site permission will be given to conduct the study.
• Consider the individuals who will be part of the data collection (e.g., teachers, administrators, parents, other school staff, etc.). Will there be a representative sample willing to participate in the research?
• If students will be part of the study, does parent consent and student assent need to be obtained?
• As you develop your data collection plan, also consider the timeline for data collection. Is it feasible? For example, if you will be collecting data in a school, consider winter and summer breaks, school events, testing schedules, etc.
• As you develop your data collection plan, consult with your dissertation chair, Subject Matter Expert, NU Academic Success Center, and the NU IRB for resources and guidance.
• Action research is not an experimental design, so you are not trying to accept or reject a hypothesis. There are no independent or dependent variables. It is not generalizable to a larger setting. The goal is to understand what is occurring in the educational setting so that a plan of action can be developed for improved practices.

Considerations for Action Research

Below are some things to consider when developing your applied dissertation proposal using Action Research (adapted from Johnson, 2019):

• Research Topic and Research Problem -- Decide the topic to be studied and then identify the problem by defining the issue in the learning environment. Use references from current peer-reviewed literature for support.
• Purpose of the Study —What need to be different or improved as a result of the study?
• Research Questions —The questions developed should focus on “how” or “what” and explore individuals’ experiences, beliefs, and perceptions.
• Theoretical Framework -- What are the existing theories (theoretical framework) or concepts (conceptual framework) that can be used to support the research. How does existing theory link to what is happening in the educational environment with regard to the topic? What theories have been used to support similar topics in previous research?
• Literature Review -- Examine the literature, focusing on peer-reviewed studies published in journal within the last five years, with the exception of seminal works. What about the topic has already been explored and examined? What were the findings, implications, and limitations of previous research? What is missing from the literature on the topic?  How will your proposed research address the gap in the literature?
• Data Collection —Who will be part of the sample for data collection? What data will be collected from the individuals in the study (e.g., semi-structured interviews, surveys, etc.)? What are the educational artifacts and documents that need to be collected (e.g., teacher less plans, student portfolios, student grades, etc.)? How will they be collected and during what timeframe? (Note--A list of sample data collection methods appears under the heading of “Sample Instrumentation.”)
• Data Analysis —Determine how the data will be analyzed. Some types of analyses that are frequently used for action research include thematic analysis and content analysis.
• Implications —What conclusions can be drawn based upon the findings? How do the findings relate to the existing literature and inform theory in the field of education?
• Recommendations for Practice--Create a Plan of Action— This is a critical step in action research. A plan of action is created based upon the data analysis, findings, and implications. In the Applied Dissertation, this Plan of Action is included with the Recommendations for Practice. The includes specific steps that individuals should take to change practices; recommendations for how those changes will occur (e.g., professional development, training, school improvement planning, committees to develop guidelines and policies, curriculum review committee, etc.); and methods to evaluate the plan’s effectiveness.
• Recommendations for Research —What should future research focus on? What type of studies need to be conducted to build upon or further explore your findings.
• Professional Presentation or Defense —This is where the findings will be presented in a professional presentation or defense as the culmination of your research.

Adapted from Johnson (2019).

Considerations for Sampling and Data Collection

Below are some tips for sampling, sample size, data collection, and instrumentation for Action Research:

Sampling and Sample Size

Action research uses non-probability sampling. This is most commonly means a purposive sampling method that includes specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. However, convenience sampling can also be used (e.g., a teacher’s classroom).

Critical Concepts in Data Collection

Triangulation- - Dosemagen and Schwalbach (2019) discussed the importance of triangulation in Action Research which enhances the trustworthiness by providing multiple sources of data to analyze and confirm evidence for findings.

Trustworthiness —Trustworthiness assures that research findings are fulfill four critical elements—credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability. Reflect on the following: Are there multiple sources of data? How have you ensured credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability? Have the assumptions, limitations, and delimitations of the study been identified and explained? Was the sample a representative sample for the study? Did any individuals leave the study before it ended? How have you controlled researcher biases and beliefs? Are you drawing conclusions that are not supported by data? Have all possible themes been considered? Have you identified other studies with similar results?

Sample Instrumentation

Below are some of the possible methods for collecting action research data:

• Pre- and Post-Surveys for students and/or staff
• Staff Perception Surveys and Questionnaires
• Semi-Structured Interviews
• Focus Groups
• Observations
• Document analysis
• Student work samples
• Classroom artifacts, such as teacher lesson plans, rubrics, checklists, etc.
• Attendance records
• Discipline data
• Journals from students and/or staff
• Portfolios from students and/or staff

A benefit of Action Research is its potential to influence educational practice. Many educators are, by nature of the profession, reflective, inquisitive, and action-oriented. The ultimate outcome of Action Research is to create a plan of action using the research findings to inform future educational practice. A Plan of Action is not meant to be a one-size fits all plan. Instead, it is mean to include specific data-driven and research-based recommendations that result from a detailed analysis of the data, the study findings, and implications of the Action Research study. An effective Plan of Action includes an evaluation component and opportunities for professional educator reflection that allows for authentic discussion aimed at continuous improvement.

When developing a Plan of Action, the following should be considered:

• How can this situation be approached differently in the future?
• What should change in terms of practice?
• What are the specific steps that individuals should take to change practices?
• What is needed to implement the changes being recommended (professional development, training, materials, resources, planning committees, school improvement planning, etc.)?
• How will the effectiveness of the implemented changes be evaluated?
• How will opportunities for professional educator reflection be built into the Action Plan?

Sample Action Research Studies

Anderson, A. J. (2020). A qualitative systematic review of youth participatory action research implementation in U.S. high schools. A merican Journal of Community Psychology, 65 (1/2), 242–257. https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajcp.12389

Ayvaz, Ü., & Durmuş, S.(2021). Fostering mathematical creativity with problem posing activities: An action research with gifted students. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 40. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edselp&AN=S1871187121000614&site=eds-live

Bellino, M. J. (2018). Closing information gaps in Kakuma Refugee Camp: A youth participatory action research study. American Journal of Community Psychology, 62 (3/4), 492–507. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofs&AN=133626988&site=eds-live

Beneyto, M., Castillo, J., Collet-Sabé, J., & Tort, A. (2019). Can schools become an inclusive space shared by all families? Learnings and debates from an action research project in Catalonia. Educational Action Research, 27 (2), 210–226. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=135671904&site=eds-live

Bilican, K., Senler, B., & Karısan, D. (2021). Fostering teacher educators’ professional development through collaborative action research. International Journal of Progressive Education, 17 (2), 459–472. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=149828364&site=eds-live

Black, G. L. (2021). Implementing action research in a teacher preparation program: Opportunities and limitations. Canadian Journal of Action Research, 21 (2), 47–71. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=149682611&site=eds-live

Bozkuş, K., & Bayrak, C. (2019). The Application of the dynamic teacher professional development through experimental action research. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11 (4), 335–352. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=135580911&site=eds-live

Christ, T. W. (2018). Mixed methods action research in special education: An overview of a grant-funded model demonstration project. Research in the Schools, 25( 2), 77–88. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=135047248&site=eds-live

Jakhelln, R., & Pörn, M. (2019). Challenges in supporting and assessing bachelor’s theses based on action research in initial teacher education. Educational Action Research, 27 (5), 726–741. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=140234116&site=eds-live

Klima Ronen, I. (2020). Action research as a methodology for professional development in leading an educational process. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 64 . https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edselp&AN=S0191491X19302159&site=eds-live

Messiou, K. (2019). Collaborative action research: facilitating inclusion in schools. Educational Action Research, 27 (2), 197–209. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=135671898&site=eds-live

Mitchell, D. E. (2018). Say it loud: An action research project examining the afrivisual and africology, Looking for alternative African American community college teaching strategies. Journal of Pan African Studies, 12 (4), 364–487. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofs&AN=133155045&site=eds-live

Pentón Herrera, L. J. (2018). Action research as a tool for professional development in the K-12 ELT classroom. TESL Canada Journal, 35 (2), 128–139. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofs&AN=135033158&site=eds-live

Rodriguez, R., Macias, R. L., Perez-Garcia, R., Landeros, G., & Martinez, A. (2018). Action research at the intersection of structural and family violence in an immigrant Latino community: a youth-led study. Journal of Family Violence, 33 (8), 587–596. https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=132323375&site=eds-live

Vaughan, M., Boerum, C., & Whitehead, L. (2019). Action research in doctoral coursework: Perceptions of independent research experiences. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13 . https://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.17aa0c2976c44a0991e69b2a7b4f321&site=eds-live

Sample Journals for Action Research

Educational Action Research

Canadian Journal of Action Research

Sample Resource Videos

Call-Cummings, M. (2017). Researching racism in schools using participatory action research [Video]. Sage Research Methods  http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?URL=https://methods.sagepub.com/video/researching-racism-in-schools-using-participatory-action-research

Fine, M. (2016). Michelle Fine discusses community based participatory action research [Video]. Sage Knowledge. http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?URL=https://sk-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/video/michelle-fine-discusses-community-based-participatory-action-research

Getz, C., Yamamura, E., & Tillapaugh. (2017). Action Research in Education. [Video]. You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2tso4klYu8

Bradbury, H. (Ed.). (2015). The handbook of action research (3rd edition). Sage.

Bradbury, H., Lewis, R. & Embury, D.C. (2019). Education action research: With and for the next generation. In C.A. Mertler (Ed.), The Wiley handbook of action research in education (1st edition). John Wiley and Sons. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nu/reader.action?docID=5683581&ppg=205

Bourner, T., & Brook, C. (2019). Comparing and contrasting action research and action learning. In C.A. Mertler (Ed.), The Wiley handbook of action research in education (1st edition). John Wiley and Sons. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nu/reader.action?docID=5683581&ppg=205

Bradbury, H. (2015). The Sage handbook of action research . Sage. https://www-doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.4135/9781473921290

Dosemagen, D.M. & Schwalback, E.M. (2019). Legitimacy of and value in action research. In C.A. Mertler (Ed.), The Wiley handbook of action research in education (1st edition). John Wiley and Sons. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nu/reader.action?docID=5683581&ppg=205

Johnson, A. (2019). Action research for teacher professional development. In C.A. Mertler (Ed.), The Wiley handbook of action research in education (1st edition). John Wiley and Sons. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nu/reader.action?docID=5683581&ppg=205

Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. In G.W. Lewin (Ed.), Resolving social conflicts: Selected papers on group dynamics (compiled in 1948). Harper and Row.

Mertler, C. A. (Ed.). (2019). The Wiley handbook of action research in education. John Wiley and Sons. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nu/detail.action?docID=5683581

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Blog Beginner Guides What is an Action Plan & How to Write One [With Examples]

What is an Action Plan & How to Write One [With Examples]

Written by: Danesh Ramuthi Oct 26, 2023

An action plan is a meticulously structured strategy that pinpoints specific steps, tasks and resources vital to turning a goal into reality. It is extremely useful in any project management. 

Crafting an action plan is like plotting a route for a cross-country journey. It’s the strategic map that outlines every step, decision and pitstop needed to reach your ultimate destination.

With a well-thought-out action plan, you’re not just shooting in the dark; you’re making informed, purposeful strides towards your goals. Dive deep with our guide and witness real-world examples that will inspire and guide you.

Need a tool to kickstart your planning? Try out the Venngage business plan maker and explore their extensive collection of action plan templates .

Click to jump ahead: 

What is the purpose of an action plan?

When to develop an action plan, 7 components of a actions plan, 15 action plan examples.

• How to Write an action plan?

Final thoughts

An action plan serves as a strategic tool designed to outline specific steps, tasks and goals necessary to achieve a particular objective.

Its primary purpose is to provide a clear roadmap and direction for individuals, teams or organizations to follow in order to efficiently and effectively accomplish their goals. 

Action plans break down complex projects into manageable, actionable components, making it easier to track progress and stay on course.

Moreover, action plans play a crucial role in fostering accountability and coordination among team members. By assigning responsibilities and deadlines for each task or milestone, they ensure that everyone involved is aware of their roles and the overall timeline, reducing confusion and enhancing teamwork. 

Additionally, action plans help in resource allocation, budgeting and risk management by enabling stakeholders to identify potential challenges and plan for contingencies. 

Overall, the purpose of an action plan is to transform abstract goals into concrete actions, making them more achievable and measurable while ensuring that the resources and efforts are aligned with the desired outcomes.

Developing an action plan is crucial when you’re looking to achieve a specific goal or outcome. Here are instances when you should consider developing an action plan:

• Start of an organization : Ideally, an action plan should be developed within the first six months to one year of the start of an organization. This initial plan lays the groundwork for the future direction and growth of the entity.
• Project initiation : At the start of any project, an action plan helps to clearly define the tasks, responsibilities, and timelines.
• Goal setting : Whenever you or your organization sets a new goal. Action plans transform these goals from abstract ideas into concrete steps.
• Strategic planning : For long-term visions and missions, action plans break down the journey into manageable pieces, each with its timeline and responsible parties.
• Performance improvement : If there are areas where performance is lacking, whether it’s personal or organizational, an action plan can outline the steps needed to elevate performance.

An action plan is a detailed outline that breaks down the steps necessary to achieve a specific goal. Here are the typical components of an action plan.

1. Objective or Goal

The cornerstone of your action plan is the objective or goal. This should be a clear and concise statement outlining the desired outcome or result. Having a well-defined objective provides a direction and purpose to the entire plan, ensuring all tasks and actions are aligned towards achieving this singular aim.

2. Tasks or Actions

Once the objective is set, the next step is to list down the specific tasks or actions required to achieve this goal. These tasks should be broken down into detailed steps, ensuring no essential activity is overlooked. The granularity of these tasks can vary based on the complexity of the goal.

3. Set deadline

For each task or action, set a realistic and achievable deadline. This timeline ensures that the plan stays on track and that momentum is maintained throughout the execution. It also allows for monitoring progress and identifying potential delays early.

4. Resources needed to complete the project

It’s crucial to recognize and list the resources you’ll need to complete the tasks. This can encompass financial resources, human resources, equipment, technological tool, marketing planning software or any other assets. Identifying these early ensures that there are no bottlenecks during execution due to a lack of necessary resources.

5. Person responsible

Assign a person or a team for each task. This designation ensures accountability and clarity. When individuals are aware of their responsibilities, it reduces overlap, confusion and ensures that every task has someone overseeing its completion.

6. Potential barriers or challenges

Every plan will face challenges. By anticipating potential barriers or obstacles, you can be better prepared to address them. This proactive approach ensures smoother execution and less reactionary problem-solving.

7. Measurement of key performance indicators (KPIs)

Determine how you’ll measure the success of each task or the plan overall. KPIs are tangible metrics that allow you to gauge progress and determine whether you’re moving closer to your goals and objectives. They offer a quantifiable means to evaluate success.

Action plans serve as blueprints, guiding the steps and resources needed to achieve a specific goal. 

They come in various formats, tailored to different scenarios and objectives. Here, we present a range of action plan examples that cater to diverse purposes and situations. 

From business strategies to simple task lists, these examples illustrate the versatility and importance of well-structured planning.

Business action plan example

A business action plan is essentially a strategy roadmap, meticulously tailored for realizing broader business objectives. By crafting a solid action plan, businesses can channel their resources, manpower and strategies in a direction that harmonizes with their larger vision.

Key to this plan is the identification and alignment of steps that resonate with the company’s comprehensive strategy, ambitions of growth and aspirations for operational enhancements. 

While this might entail a myriad of specific steps based on unique business goals, some common elements include setting clear key performance indicators (KPIs), undertaking a thorough SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to grasp the current business landscape and establishing a timeline to keep track of progress.

Furthermore, allocating responsibilities to team members or individuals ensures that every aspect of the strategy has a dedicated focus. Budgeting, essential to the success of the action plan, ensures that every initiative is financially viable and sustainable. 

Regular reviews and iterations based on feedback and changing market dynamics keep the action plan agile and relevant.

Related: 5 Steps to Create an Actionable Employee Development Plan [with Templates & Examples]

Company action plan example

A comprehensive company action plan serves as the strategic linchpin, ensuring a coherent and coordinated approach to realizing organizational goals. Central to this plan is the incorporation of rigorous market research and analysis, which provides insights into consumer behaviors, market trends and potential opportunities. 

Equally vital is the focus on product development and procurement, ensuring that the offerings align with market demands and stand out in terms of quality and relevance. 

Alongside, adept legal and financial management safeguards the company’s interests, ensuring compliance with regulations and prudent fiscal oversight.

Moreover, the essence of any successful company action plan lies in its sales and marketing strategies. These define how the products or services are positioned and promoted in the market, ensuring visibility and engagement with the target audience. 

However, while acquisition is crucial, retention plays an equally significant role. Hence, impeccable customer service and nurturing relationships become indispensable components, fostering loyalty and ensuring that clients remain ambassadors for the brand long after the initial transaction.

Related: 30+ Project Plan Examples to Visualize Your Strategy (2023)

Sales action plan example

A well-structured sales action plan serves as the backbone for systematic and efficient progress. Central to this plan is the identification and utilization of the most effective sales channels, whether they are direct, online or through third-party avenues. 

Clarity on the products and services on offer, combined with their unique selling propositions, facilitates tailored and resonant sales pitches. 

Budget considerations ensure that resources are judiciously allocated, balancing the act between expenditures and potential returns. This financial prudence is complemented by setting realistic sales projections, which act as both a motivational target and a yardstick for success.

Timelines, or proposed deadlines, infuse the process with a sense of urgency, ensuring that the momentum of the sales drive is maintained. 

However, the true measure of the action plan’s efficacy lies in its key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics, be it lead conversion rates or customer retention figures, serve as tangible markers, highlighting the plan’s strengths and signaling areas that might require recalibration to increase sales.

Corrective action plan example

The essence of a corrective action plan lies in its meticulous structure, tailored to address and rectify deviations or inefficiencies identified within an organization. At its core, each action item serves as a focal point, detailing specific areas or processes that require intervention. 

Accompanying each action item is a clear description that provides a comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand. 

However, merely identifying a problem isn’t enough; delving deep into its origins through root cause analysis ensures that solutions target the fundamental issues, rather than just addressing superficial symptoms. 

This analysis then paves the way for defining the corrective action, a tangible step or series of steps designed to mitigate the identified problem and prevent its recurrence.

Besides, to ensure the plan’s effectiveness, assigning a responsible person to each action item is paramount. This individual or team is entrusted with the task’s execution, ensuring accountability and focus. 

The status of each action keeps stakeholders informed about the progress, be it in the planning phase, ongoing, or completed. 

Lastly, setting a due date for each corrective action introduces a sense of urgency and purpose, ensuring that issues are addressed in a timely manner, minimizing disruptions and maximizing operational efficiency.

Simple action plan example

A simple action plan strips away the layers of complexity, offering a concise and direct approach to achieving a goal or addressing an issue. This type of plan is characterized by its straightforward structure, devoid of extraneous details, yet powerfully effective in its clarity. 

It is specifically designed for tasks or objectives that don’t necessitate elaborate strategies or multi-layered approaches.

The core components of a simple action plan usually include a clear statement of the task or objective at hand, followed by a sequence of actions or steps to be taken. 

Each step is described succinctly, ensuring that anyone involved has a clear understanding of what is expected. Responsibilities are defined clearly, with each task allocated to an individual or a team, ensuring accountability. Timelines might be integrated, providing a clear framework for completion, even if they’re just broad milestones. 

Regular check-ins or assessments, although minimal, might be incorporated to monitor progress. 

The beauty of a simple action plan lies in its agility and adaptability, making it particularly suited for individual projects, short-term tasks or situations where a rapid response is required.

How to write an action plan?

Creating an effective action plan is a foundational step towards turning aspirations into tangible results. It provides a clear roadmap, ensuring that each step taken aligns with the overall objective.

Whether you’re aiming to enhance a business process or achieve a personal goal, a well-drafted action plan can be your guiding light. Here’s key steps on how you can craft one:

• Step 1: Establish SMART goals: Initiating with a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound ensures you have a clear and focused endpoint in sight. Smart goals serves as the cornerstone for your entire strategic blueprint.
• Step 2: Determine necessary tasks: Decompose your overarching objective into smaller, actionable tasks. This modular approach not only makes the mission less daunting but also provides a sequential pathway to goal attainment.
• Step 3: Assign essential resources: Depending on the tasks at hand, designate necessary resources, be they human, financial or technological. This ensures that every activity has the backing it needs for successful execution.
• Step 4: Prioritize tasks by importance: Not all tasks hold equal weight. Determine the hierarchy of tasks based on their impact on the goal and their time sensitivity. This allows for a systematic progression.
• Step 5: Outline timelines and key markers: With tasks in hand, set clear deadlines for each. Introduce milestones, which act as periodic check-ins, ensuring you’re on track and allowing for celebrations of smaller victories.
• Step 6: Oversee and modify your strategy blueprint: As you progress, there will invariably be learnings and challenges. Regularly review your plan to make necessary adjustments, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness.
• Step 7: Consider ready-to-use templates: If starting from scratch feels overwhelming, lean on structured templates to guide your planning. There’s plenty of business plan softwares and platforms such as  Venngage that offer a plethora of action plan templates , tailored to various needs, which can significantly streamline the process.

An action plan is more than just an action steps, it’s a strategic blueprint that bridges the gap between aspirations and realizations. 

Through this comprehensive guide, I’ve walked you through the purpose, ideal timings, core components, and practical examples of action plans across various domains. 

Leveraging tools of project management , you can track progress, assign tasks and ensure every team member stays on the same page. 

It’s not just about setting goals, but about strategically planning every step, ensuring tasks completed align with the larger project goals. 

Remember, success isn’t just about having goals but about charting the right course to achieve them

And if you’re looking to supercharge your planning efforts, don’t miss out on the Venngage business plan maker. 

Dive into their extensive collection of action plan templates and make your strategic planning both efficient and effective. 

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Introduction: What Is Action Research?

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Gives a brief overview of the concepts, traditions, and theoretical underpinnings of action research. Provides first attempts at defining the field and shows conceptual problems and pitfalls within the action research traditions. Shows how Critical Psychology intercepts with Action Research.

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Research Action Plan

It is a fact that a research action plan is needed not only to provide a solution for an existing problem but also to provide detailed information for a new study. Research action plans are conducted by numerous individuals and groups on different fields (i.e., business, science, academe, government, technology, etc.).

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To guide you in creating a research action plan, we have provided some examples (in PDF format) as well as tips on how to create a research action plan.

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The Importance of Creating a Research Action Plan

The importance of research action plans cannot be understated. As previously mentioned, they are conducted by various individuals and groups on various fields. Although they are commonly used by business entities and scientific organizations, they are also used by academe (by both professors and students alike), government, technology, sports, and social welfare groups. You may also see quality plan examples & samples .

We will be discussing below the importance of research action plans to each sector that was mentioned.

1. Business

This is where research action plans are constantly created and used. Business entities, specifically companies, conduct research for various reasons. Some do research to develop a new product or improve an existing one, some do research to analyze a new market, some do it for investment analysis , while some companies do it to improve their competitive advantage.

The reasons are not limited to the ones mentioned above, as they are other numerous reasons why companies conduct research. But despite the reason, business research is always aimed toward two things: profitability and sustainability.

Similar to business entities, scientific organizations also do heavy research. Scientific research is always aimed to provide better living conditions for not only humans but all the organisms living on this planet. Additionally, scientific research also centers on discovering things that were not deemed possible before (for example: evolution, relativity, space travel, etc.). You may also like company plan examples & samples .

3. Technology

Science and technology are always intertwined. Technology uses scientific processes to discover new objects and possibilities, while science uses technology to do the same thing. Since the dawn of the digital age, technology has been moving at a breakneck speed. Research has resulted in the most groundbreaking technological discoveries in the 21st century, and more is yet it to come in the next few years. You may also check out advertising plan examples & samples .

The images you see in movies (for example, the Iron Man or Black Panther suit, hologram interaction, nanotechnology) will all be possible sooner than you think.

4. Government

The most advanced and progressive countries rely on their government to do research. Either research to develop new infrastructure, improve transportation and utility systems, eradicate poverty, or to increase foreign and domestic investors, research has been key to improve a country’s economic standing and decrease national debt. You might be interested in sales plan examples .

Similar to science and technology, government and academe are also intertwined in which both sectors benefit each other. In most countries, government asks the assistance of academic institutions to create a research action plan, especially in studies relating to education. You may have also noticed that various educators have taken government positions to extend their expertise to the government. You may also see event plan examples & samples .

Playing sports is both a great pastime and a great money earner. There is money in sports, which is why numerous organizations turn it into a business. Sports-centered research do not only focus on increasing physical abilities and skills but also on marketing. Sports apparel companies like Adidas and Nike, as well as sports personalities like Michael Jordan and Lionel Messi, have all benefited not only from sports health and wellness research but also from sports marketing research. You may also like daily plan examples & samples .

7. Social Welfare

Social welfare is a subcategory of government, but this focuses on human resource specifically the improving of living conditions of individuals and communities.

Social welfare is very important as human resource provides the backbone of every country. If individuals are struggling to meet their daily needs, they become unhealthy and unfocused, thus reducing their effectiveness as being part of the country’s workforce. An unproductive workforce cannot support the government in any way possible. You may also check out management plan examples .

That is why research based on social welfare helps government identify and solve issues in regards to their citizens, aiding them to improve their financial standing to become more effective and efficient in their respective industries.

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Basic Research Action Plan Outline

There is no standard outline in creating a research action plan. But there are sections in which are found in most research action plans. Listed below is a basic research action plan outline which is highly recommended when you will be making your own research plan in the future. You may also see annual plan examples and samples .

Feel free to edit and add sections from the PDF research action plan examples we provided if you think some sections are relevant to your research.

1. Introduction

Sometimes, researchers tend to overlook the introduction as it does not contain the meat of the study. But the introduction is as important as the other sections of the research action plan.

The introduction contains information on why the research is being conducted, and also provides info on how the research will affect the industry or sector it was based on. Remember that the introduction is not a summary of the research . That section is called “abstract.” The abstract is written once the study has been accomplished, and is usually inserted after the introduction.

2. Statement of the Problem

The general statement of the problem identifies the problems or issues that need to be solved in the research. The statement of the problem is usually formulated using WH and H questions, but those questions need to be very specific. Providing general questions will be difficult for the researcher especially when he reaches the data-gathering stage.

Here is an example of a “how” question in a problem statement for a research focusing on hologram smartphone development in 2018:

Incorrect (general): How can smartphone companies develop hologram technology in their products in 2018?

Correct (specific): How can the leading smartphone manufacturers Apple, Samsung, and Vivo implement hologram technology in their high-end phones when they have functions and features lined up for their models in the next two years? You may also like audit plan examples & samples .

Based on the examples above, it will be easier for the researcher to conduct the research as he will be focused on three smartphone companies Apple, Samsung, and Vivo instead of all the smartphone manufacturers as stated in the first problem. Additionally, the second problem centers in on the hologram’s impact to the company’s current portfolio of products, while the first problem does not even recognize the current products of the companies. You may also check out work plan examples & samples .

3. Methodology

The methodology identifies the research’s respondents, locale, research design, and data-gathering procedure. This section basically lists down the methods and procedures the researcher will use in his study. The methodology tremendously aids the researcher as he focuses on the methods and procedures he previously chose, creating a more streamlined study that does not stray away from the problems the researcher wants to solve. You might be interested in weekly plan examples & samples .

4. Analysis of Data

Data analysis is basically the meat of the entire study or research. Data analysis is conducted after all the data have been compiled. There are numerous data analysis methods that researchers use, but the one that is actually used depends on the data that was gathered (number of respondents, type of study, research topic, etc.). You may also see implementation plan examples & samples .

Most of the time, a statistician assists the researcher on tabulating the data and also assists in identifying what analysis method to use. Data analysis will help the researcher determine what recommendations to use, so it is crucial that the data should be analyzed carefully. You may also like job plan examples & samples .

5. Recommendation

Recommendations are the result of data analysis. This section answers the statement of the problem through the data that was gathered and analyzed. Make sure each question in the statement of the problem has a corresponding recommendation. Recommendations are basically the solutions to the problems you presented, so again be specific in how you present your recommendations. You may also check out business plan examples .

Here is an example on a recommendation based on the problem listed above. How can the leading smartphone manufacturers Apple, Samsung, and Vivo implement hologram technology in their high-end phones when they have functions and features lined up for their models in the next two years? You might be interested in transition plan examples & samples .

Incorrect (general): The three smartphone companies should have a separate department to produce a new line of products that will implement hologram technology. (No further analysis is discussed).

Correct (specific): Based on 70% of the responses, the three smartphone companies should have a separate department to produce a new line of products that will implement hologram technology. This will create a more smooth production process as two departments will be working on different products, but still under the same company. (Detailed analysis to follow.) You may also see project plan examples .

6. Conclusion

The research conclusion is the last part of the research and serves a similar purpose to the introduction. The conclusion basically reiterates the information that was previously mentioned in the data analysis and recommendation, but it is not the summary of the entire research. The conclusion also agrees on what recommendations were made by the researcher. No further analysis is conducted in the conclusion. You may also like evaluation plan examples & samples .

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We hope you found this article to be informative as well as helpful when you will be making your own research action plan. We also included some examples in PDF to assist you (they are all free to download). Doing research requires long hours of hard work and patience, and sometimes the results do not even go the way you planned them to. The quality of data you compile and your eventual analysis of the said data are not the only determinants on creating a successful research study, as you also need to have a good research action plan .

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What is an action plan? (Example and template)

May 3, 2024 - 10 min read

An action plan is a definitive checklist of tasks and resources needed to complete a project or achieve a goal. You can think of it as a visual countdown to the project delivery or a breakdown of the list of tasks needed to achieve desired results.

Now you may be thinking, “What is the purpose of an action plan vs. a to-do list ?” 

The most significant difference between action plans and to-do lists is that action plans focus on achieving a specific goal . In contrast, to-do lists are ongoing and include tasks for different goals and projects. 

Understanding this distinction, it becomes clear that action plans are powerful tools for goal setting and project execution. They help teams manage necessary resources, adhere to schedules, and track progress toward specific goals and project initiatives. 

In this article, we’ll go through the purposes of action plans, the key steps usually included in them, how you can use action plans to help your project management, and step-by-step instructions on how to put one together yourself. 

And, as a bonus, we’ll also give you information on Wrike’s prebuilt action plan template , which can jump-start your action plan process. 

What is the purpose of an action plan?

An action plan , also sometimes referred to as a plan of action , helps order project tasks in a sequential and timely manner to achieve a goal. Project managers and individuals can use action plans to achieve their work and personal project goals.

Developing an action plan clarifies the goals to be achieved, the teams and service providers to involve, and the tasks, dependencies, milestones, and resources needed to complete the project.

Working with an action plan ensures you complete every task and requirement to meet the expected standards of a project. As you develop an action plan, you identify any critical paths and dependencies. 

Keep in mind that a developed action plan isn’t set in stone, because the environment in which projects operate is often subject to change . External factors such as market conditions, economic influences, technology advancements or failures, regulatory requirements, and unexpected events can impact the execution of any plan. A dynamic document allows for flexibility and adaptability so you can adjust your strategies in response to evolving circumstances.

Why are action plans important in project management?

​​An action plan in project management is a quick and easy way to keep projects on track. Creating an action plan means you can quickly map out the resources and requirements you need and sketch a timeline to complete tasks. 

Here are several benefits of using a strategic action plan in project management:

• They’re simple and easy to set up, helping to maintain operational efficiency without taking much time.
• They declutter managers’ minds by providing a framework for structuring new projects in a sensible order.
• They clarify the objectives of the project and build consensus on how the work should be done.
• They prepare you for predictable and preventable challenges and focus your resources to achieve your main goals for the project. 
• They maximize personal and team productivity and resource allocation.
• They reduce the possibility of forgetting tasks in the project.
• They generate a goal-driven workflow, so you know what to work on throughout the project.
• They provide a way to track progress as you check tasks off the action plan as you complete them.

Action plan vs. project plan

Action plans should not be confused with project plans . Both list the tasks, resources, and timelines required to achieve a desired goal, but project plans go deeper, including details such as contingency plan action steps, risk mitigation strategies, quality assessment criteria, and stakeholder communication schedules. In contrast, action plans simply list the tasks, resources, and timelines needed to achieve a goal. 

Think of it this way: For big, complex, or long-term projects, you create a project plan first. Once your project plan is in place, an action plan helps you detail the steps and flow for allocating resources, sharing and executing tasks, and setting deadlines.

In summary, action plans and project plans differ in the following ways: 

• Complexity : Action plans are simpler than project plans. They focus solely on the tasks, resources, and timelines required to achieve a goal. Project plans include additional sections for other measures, standards, and procedures for completing a project. 
• Duration : Action plans focus on specific, short-term goals. These may be for standalone goals or part of a larger project. Project plans are more encompassing, covering longer-term objectives, which may take months or years to complete. 
• Flow : Action plans are linear, with one task following another until the goal is achieved. Project plans may have multiple phases, e.g., planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and reviewing, with each stage containing its own distinct tasks and deliverables.

The components of an action plan

Let’s take a look at the essential components of an action plan:

• Action plan objectives: The action plan objectives serve as the main guide for the action plan, defining and communicating what the plan seeks to achieve. 
• Action plan steps: Action plan steps form the core of the action plan. They detail crucial targets and set milestones that must be completed to reach the goal. These steps divide the goal or project into manageable chunks and provide a framework for identifying tasks (action items), allocating resources, and determining timelines. 
• Action plan items: Action plan items are the nitty-gritty details of the action plan — the actual tasks to be performed. Each action plan item must be clearly defined, actionable, and understood by the team involved. 
• Action plan timeline: The action plan timeline maps out the plan schedule from start to finish. It’s crucial for setting expectations, tracking progress and performance, and ensuring the project stays on schedule. 
• Action plan resources: These are the inputs required to execute the plan, e.g., labor, time, tools, and funds. Identifying action plan resources before delving into execution helps ensure tasks are not delayed or compromised due to resource constraints. 
• Action plan matrix: The action plan matrix provides a structured layout for the strategic planning of tasks. It serves as a roadmap and helps to categorize your action steps and tasks based on priority, status, and resource allocation. This alignment helps identify any dependencies or potential bottlenecks.
• Action plan report: The action plan report provides an overview of the progress made in executing the action plan. It includes details like the tasks completed, time taken, costs incurred, resources used, and any deviations from the plan.
• Assignments: Each task should be assigned to a person, team, or group. Clear assignment of responsibility is crucial for accountability and the successful execution of any action plan.

What are the key steps of an action plan?

The main point of a plan of action is to ensure you don’t overlook critical tasks and milestones of your project. In its simplest form, developing an effective action plan entails listing tasks you need to complete and prioritizing them.

As you develop your action plan, you decide which tasks you can delegate, outsource, or delay. The steps below map out how to write a sound action plan to increase your chance of success.

Step 1: Define your goal 

Get clear on what you want to achieve with your project. Define the action plan in terms of where you are and where you want to be. If you have alternative methods to achieve your goal, assess your situation and decide the best chances of success depending on your resources.

Step 2: List tasks

Once you have your goal, list the tasks and activities you must complete to achieve it. Then order them sequentially by adding key dates and deadlines. This should include a time frame with start and end dates for each task.

Step 3: Identify critical tasks

Are there any specific steps that must be completed before others can start? These are critical time-bound tasks with dependencies. Prioritize these tasks and set realistic deadlines. If you plan to assign them to team members, be sure to let them know the dependencies and allow enough time to deliver them.

Step 4: Assign tasks

Now that the project is broken down, you can start assigning tasks. Will you be handling some yourself in addition to managing the project? Make sure you allocate time and human resources carefully — you may choose to delegate or outsource specific tasks.

Step 5: Assess and improve

At the end of each project, assess performance, analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, and learn from mistakes or missteps to improve your action planning and project execution. If you work with a team, collect feedback and improvement suggestions from team members for better performance in the future.

Action plan best practices

Following these best practices will mean you ’ re more likely to succeed: 

• Involve your team: When working with a team, involve them early in the planning process to get their input and save time. Get team members’ work schedules before assigning tasks to avoid conflicts. Clear communication enables responsible parties to prepare for their specific project tasks.
• Set SMART goals: SMART goals are s pecific, m easurable, a ttainable, r elevant, and t imely. Ensure your action plan starts with a strong foundation by defining clear and SMART goals that add value, either as a personal project or at work.
• Make your action plans into templates: To get more benefits from your action plans, make them into templates. After assessing your action plan at the end of a completed project, make a copy of the plan and remove all project-specific details, so you’re able to use the action planning template in future projects. This minimizes the need to repeat work, saving a lot of time and reducing errors.

Who needs to write an action plan?

Action plans aren’t just for project managers — they’re handy for all sorts of professionals and individuals tackling personal or business projects. Action plans can also be used alone or with a team. When working with a team, the leader puts together the action plan with everyone’s input.

Developing an action plan helps individuals, managers, and organizations finish their projects more successfully. They’re great for getting started, keeping track of what needs to be done, and maintaining progress on any project. Remember to check off tasks as they are done, update the plans, and communicate with your team as your project progresses.

A variation of a traditional action plan is a corrective action plan. Project managers and individuals use corrective action plans when they need to fix recurring problems or deviations in a project, process, or organization, so they don’t happen again in the future.

An example of an action plan 

Action plans are quick and easy to create. It’s all about putting down what you need to accomplish your goal or project. 

Here’s a simple action plan example for a marketing team working on a new campaign:

Action plan objective: Increase brand awareness and boost product sales by 30% by the end of Q4 2023 through a localized multimedia marketing campaign.

Other action plan examples in project management include:

• Launching a new product
• Organizing an event
• Improving customer service
• Enhancing employee training
• Expanding into new markets
• Increasing your social media following

Maximizing efficiency with action plan templates

A project action plan template is a preformatted document providing a framework to outline, execute, and track the tasks and specific actions needed to accomplish your larger goal. It streamlines the action planning process by providing a ready-to-use format you can quickly fill out to create a robust action plan. This way, you don’t waste time making one from scratch using Excel, Google Docs, or Microsoft Word. 

Wrike’s simple action plan template manages projects and goals with an intuitive interface designed to help plan and launch projects with teams of any size. This template’s features enable real-time collaboration, easy task assignments, time tracking, and reporting.

Common issues like a lack of visibility on remote workers’ assignments and confusing project priorities are mitigated with functionalities such as: 

• Organizing tasks by departments into folders, making the journey from “To Do” to “In Progress” to “Completed” smooth
• Identifying dependencies and defining the priority of tasks to determine which tasks need to be done first
• Providing a snapshot of the tasks due now and in the coming weeks, ensuring the project schedule is adhered to
• Securing sensitive data from unauthorized personnel with permissions offering various levels of access and visibility for collaborators and stakeholders

How to create an action plan with Wrike

Using project management tools helps to organize your business action plan visually and make it feel more achievable. With project management software like Wrike , you get a free action plan template included with your subscription — so you can easily input your project resources, requirements, and timelines, and track your progress throughout the project. 

As outlined above, the best way to jump-start your action plan is to use our prebuilt plan of action and milestones template . It helps you take control of your task management by providing sample folders to organize tasks, a calendar for project scheduling, and prebuilt dashboards for monitoring progress. All you have to do is add your tasks and due dates to get a complete overview of all project work. 

Our template works for all different types of action plans. You can use it as:

• A personal action plan template for personal projects
• A business action plan template to simplify project management
• A corrective action plan template to fix issues with an existing project

If you’re ready to develop action plans and track your progress while better managing your projects, you need Wrike. We make it easy to plan, execute, and ensure success, even when you’re on the go.

Click here to start your free two-week trial and kick off your action plan today.

Kelechi Udoagwu

Kelechi is a freelance writer and founder of Week of Saturdays, a platform for digital freelancers and remote workers living in Africa.

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UKRI evaluation strategy

Our commitment to effective evaluation of our investments.

Introduction

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK, spanning all disciplines and sectors. We invest more than £8 billion each year in people, places, ideas, innovation and impacts, to advance our understanding of the world around us, and tackle the challenges we face both nationally and globally.

Our UKRI strategy 2022 to 2027: transforming tomorrow together sets out our long-term, high-level priorities for how we will deliver our vision for an outstanding research and innovation system in the UK. The UKRI strategy emphasises the vital role that evaluation must play in achieving that vision, by helping us to understand our impact and learn from what we do.

This UKRI evaluation strategy builds upon the good practice in evaluation that is already embedded across the organisation. It outlines why evaluation is important, our vision for evaluation at UKRI, our areas of focus to achieve that vision, and features of evaluation within a research and innovation context.

We are publishing this strategy to aid transparency and to demonstrate our commitment to effective evaluation of our investments.

UKRI vision

Our vision is for an outstanding research and innovation system in the UK that gives everyone the opportunity to contribute and to benefit, enriching lives locally, nationally, and internationally.

We are committed to monitoring and evaluating our investments rigorously to understand our impact and to learn from ‘what works’… This will include commissioning independent evaluations of our major research and innovation grants and investments, as well as continuing to build our in-house skills, capabilities and analytical frameworks. (UKRI strategy 2022-27: transforming tomorrow together)

Importance of evaluation for UKRI

Evaluation is defined by HM Treasury’s Magenta Book (the Treasury’s guidance on evaluation) as the “systematic assessment of the design, implementation and outcomes of an intervention”. At UKRI, evaluations provide us with a deep understanding of how our investments were delivered and the outcomes and impacts they went on to achieve.

We are strongly committed to undertaking high-quality evaluation at UKRI, recognising the vital role it plays in making us an effective and efficient organisation.

Evaluation is important for UKRI as it enables us to:

• make evidence-based decisions on how best to support research and innovation priorities, maximising the value and impact we deliver for the UK taxpayer
• learn what went well and what went less well in the delivery of our investments and in achieving impact, so we can continuously improve what we do
• demonstrate that we are a responsible investor of public funding and that our investments represent value-for-money, enabling our stakeholders and the public to hold us to account
• communicate and celebrate our impact and success, helping to justify and secure future investment in research and innovation

Features of research and innovation evaluation

The nature of research and innovation activity introduces a variety of factors that need to be considered during the evaluation process.

For example, impacts from research and innovation investments can take a long time to arise, and often occur after the lifetime of the investment. At the same time, researchers, innovators, and organisations involved in the delivery of research and innovation are often fluid, with dynamic employment situations and frequent changes in staffing.

The timing of the evaluation therefore needs to be considered carefully to allow sufficient time for evidence of outcomes and impacts to arise, whilst avoiding loss of historical knowledge amongst staff.

There are also challenges associated with attributing outcomes and impacts to research and innovation. The pathway from investment to impact is often complex and rarely linear, and there is often a lot of activity taking place within the same sector or location that could have influenced the impact.

Experimental and quasi-experimental methods are also often not possible in a research and innovation context, as we do not allocate our funding randomly. Theory-based methods are therefore often preferable when measuring the impact of research and innovation.

Proactive steps can be taken through evaluation design and implementation to address these factors. Common mitigation strategies include:

• use of mixed-method approaches (often both qualitative and quantitative)
• establishing an understanding of the starting point and what would have happened if no funding was provided (a baseline counterfactual scenario)
• undertaking interim evaluations during the lifetime of the programme
• ensuring that adequate data is collected through monitoring processes while the programme is progressing

Our vision for evaluation

Our vision is for high-quality evaluation to be embedded throughout UKRI, generating robust, reliable, and trusted evidence, helping us understand and improve our impact.

We have come a long way towards achieving our vision, with strong evaluation networks in place, growing evaluation expertise, and evaluation reports published in our evaluation reports section .

To continue to strengthen our evaluation system and achieve our vision we are focusing on the following four key areas of action:

• proportionate evaluation practices
• high-quality evaluation
• a culture of continuous improvement
• ethical evaluation

Across these areas we will work collaboratively with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and with other research and innovation funders. We will collectively tackle challenges in undertaking research and innovation evaluation and promote the use of evaluation evidence within programme design and decision-making.

Achieving our vision

Proportionate evaluation practices.

UKRI invests in a diverse range of activities that support research and innovation, with investments ranging from small grants to large programmes worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

With such diversity in our investments, we must ensure our evaluations are proportionate and that resource is targeted at providing UKRI with the highest-priority evidence.

Appropriate evaluation activity may include:

• internally run evaluations
• expert external peer review panels
• full externally commissioned evaluations

Decisions on what to prioritise, and the extent of evaluation activity to undertake, are based upon the size of the investment, stakeholder areas of interest and the mechanisms used to deliver the investment.

Evaluation activity that goes beyond routine monitoring is considered if a UKRI investment meets one or more of the following criteria:

• of a significant level, such as UKRI’s large cross-cutting funding programmes
• strategically important with a clear need to have evidence about delivery or impact
• novel or complex in its process, delivery mechanism or the results that it is trying to achieve
• represents an opportunity to better understand what works in the delivery of research and innovation funding

We plan and design our evaluation activity to ensure the best use of resources, by carefully considering the level at which an evaluation is to be carried out.

For example, in some instances it is more appropriate to conduct an evaluation at portfolio or theme level, rather than at the level of the individual investment. The level that is most appropriate is decided based upon the purpose of the evaluation and the questions we need to answer.

We have cross-council evaluation networks in place to support the co-ordination and planning of our evaluation activity. Through these networks, we keep track of ongoing and upcoming evaluations across the organisation.

High-quality evaluation

High-quality evaluation is essential to ensure our evaluations generate robust, reliable, and trusted evidence. To achieve this, we must design our evaluations carefully, selecting the most appropriate evaluation type and the best methods.

Evaluations are classified into three main types depending on the questions to be answered:

• process evaluations, which explore how effective the overall operation of the investment was (focusing on the decision-making process, financing, resourcing, and progress against objectives)
• impact evaluations, which focus on what difference the investment made to the economy and society (in terms of knowledge creation, outcomes delivered and wider impacts)
• value for money evaluations, which help us understand whether the investment was a good use or most effective use of the resource

In practice, there is a lot of interaction between these types. For example, process evaluation may feed into impact evaluation by helping us understand more about how the impacts were achieved. A value for money evaluation is also likely to draw on evidence related to both process and impact.

We often need to use a combination of evaluation types and evaluation methods to fully answer our evaluation questions. We are also keen to explore innovative approaches where they can help us to better answer our evaluation questions and enhance our evidence base.

The advice of evaluation practitioners, external consultants, and HM Treasury’s Magenta Book is used to guide the selection of evaluation methods. We also endeavour to align value for money and economic analysis with HM Treasury’s Green Book (the Treasury’s guidance on how to appraise policies, programmes and projects), with the aim to use that data to inform new investments through business cases.

An evaluation plan or evaluation framework (or both) is often developed, outlining the type or types of evaluation to be conducted and when, the evaluation questions to be answered, and the methods to be used.

High-quality evaluation is also dependent on having access to the vital data needed to support evaluation activity. Evaluation practitioners work closely with UKRI’s data teams to review the data that’s required to meet our evaluation needs and ensure it’s accessible via UKRI’s data systems.

A culture of continuous improvement

A culture of continuous improvement embedded throughout the organisation is vital to achieve our vision and maximise use of evaluation evidence within our decision-making processes. There are three key elements we are focusing on to help us achieve this culture:

• embedding evaluation practices
• maximising learning and underpinning decision-making
• building our evaluation capacity and expertise

Embedding evaluation practices

To generate evidence of impact and learn what works across our diverse portfolio of investments, it is important for evaluation to be embedded in business processes across UKRI.

The role of evaluation and the evidence it creates should be considered at all stages of the funding lifecycle, from investment design through to investment governance. Robust monitoring processes must also be in place, so that data needed to support the evaluation is collected proactively throughout the lifetime of the investment.

Due to our size and diversity, embedding these practices must be a collective endeavour, where staff across the organisation understand what evaluation is, why it is important and what the processes are that they need to follow.

To support this, we have an internal UKRI Evaluation Framework, which is aligned with our evaluation strategy and guides UKRI staff on how to approach and deliver evaluation activity. The framework is accessible to all UKRI staff from our internal website, and staff are supported in its implementation by expert evaluation practitioners and a comprehensive set of evaluation training materials.

The framework also highlights the need for staff to involve evaluation practitioners from the start, so they can advise on evaluation design and are aware of evaluation activity ongoing in their area. This evaluation framework and other supporting materials are reviewed and updated when necessary to ensure continued support is provided.

Maximising learning and underpinning decision-making

To maximise learning and optimise use of evaluation evidence in our decision-making processes, effective communication and engagement is needed throughout. Involving anticipated users of the evaluation in designing the evaluation helps to ensure the evidence generated is relevant, and that key findings and learning can be shared with the right people at the right time to influence decisions.

When communicated effectively, evaluation evidence can underpin decision-making on investment design, strategy, and funding allocation.

The UKRI strategy also outlines six strategic priorities for the organisation such as enhancing place-based benefits, accelerating commercialisation, and addressing major national and global challenges via our five strategic themes. By incorporating questions aligned with these priorities into our evaluations, we can enhance the evidence base on what works in these areas.

As such, the audience for our evaluation activity is broad (both internally and externally), and can include business case analysts, programme boards, senior leadership teams, government sponsors and the wider research and innovation community.

We therefore use a variety of mechanisms to actively promote the findings of our evaluations, including via senior board meetings, our cross-UKRI networks, intranet pages, webinars and learning series. We have also developed a guide to help evaluation managers engage with their stakeholders early on and disseminate their evaluation findings effectively.

We are committed to sharing our evaluation findings externally, aiding transparency and enhancing the evidence base on research and innovation. We will continue to publish all our commissioned evaluations in our evaluation reports section as agreed in our evaluation publication protocol.

Building our capacity and expertise

To embed evaluation and adopt a culture of continuous improvement, it is vital we build evaluation capacity and expertise within our workforce. To do this, we are focused on embedding an evaluation community of practice throughout UKRI, supporting knowledge sharing, career development, and increased opportunities for staff.

Through the community of practice, we will continue to deliver cross-UKRI training on evaluation. Our training includes topics such as developing a theory of change, disseminating evaluation findings, and undertaking economic appraisal. This includes both expert-led training sessions and written training materials aligned with our evaluation framework. All staff involved in evaluation activity are encouraged to access this UKRI-wide training, accessible via our internal website.

We will also continue to invest in developing the expertise of our evaluation teams, by encouraging continuous professional development and membership of the government analytical professions. Staff are encouraged to participate in relevant conferences, training, and seminar series, and share knowledge gained with others via the community of practice. These activities support a culture of peer-to-peer learning and generate active discussion on how to further improve our evaluation processes.

Ethical evaluation

Ethical evaluation (where evaluation activity is conducted with integrity and respect) is fundamental to what we do. To ensure objectivity and independence, we will continue to commission external organisations to carry out evaluations of our major investments.

When a high level of subject matter expertise is required to assess the relative impact of outputs and outcomes, an independent peer review body may be needed to convene expert external advice. We will continue to provide guidance and support to external evaluators in the form of access to programme documents and other relevant material, while maintaining impartiality.

Great emphasis is also placed on information security and data protection, and UKRI has stringent measures in this area in place, compliant with obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation. Our Information Security Team promotes, encourages, and supports the safe and secure use of information by UKRI and those working with us.

The issues in these areas can be complex and sensitive, often requiring consideration on a case-by-case basis. Those commissioning evaluations therefore seek advice from our Information Security Team and Information Governance Data Protection specialists at an early stage to embed privacy by design and default. UKRI’s privacy notice and data protection policy set out what data we need, why we need it, and what we will do with it. We also work closely with our externally commissioned organisations to ensure they uphold our expected standards and adhere to UKRI policy.

In addition, all evaluation activity will continue to consider UKRI’s role as:

• a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
• a signatory of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment
• a member of the UK Forum for Responsible Research Metrics

Commitments include prohibiting the use of journal impact factors to assess the quality of a research publication and promoting best practice in the use of metrics. For example, supplementing the use of quantitative indicators with qualitative evidence, rather than in isolation.

We are committed to improving our evaluation strategy and approach to evaluation at UKRI and we value feedback, suggestions, or insights. For any queries or to provide feedback on our evaluation strategy contact us at:

Email: [email protected]

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Code of Ethics

You are here

*NEW* Thousands of you have since shared your ideas, needs, and feedback through surveys and focus groups. With that guidance, and led by extraordinary workgroups made up of Governing Board members, educators, faculty, researchers, partners, and advisors, we are honored to be able to launch a public comment period with draft versions of Code of Ethics for your review through November 15, 2024.  

English   Español

You are invited to engage in the process of collective revision with us. Here are three ways you can provide feedback during this time:   

1. Take a survey. NAEYC has prepared surveys for both statements, available in English and Spanish . In addition to offering general feedback opportunities, these surveys will help guide you towards some areas where we are seeking specific feedback on open or unresolved questions.   

English Survey   Encuesta en español

2. Email your reflections. NAEYC is committed to reading, and translating if needed, all comments that come our way, so feel free to send your thoughts, in your preferred language, directly to [email protected] .     

3. Participate in conferences and focus groups. NAEYC and many Affiliates and Interest Forums will be holding conferences, meetings, and focus groups exploring one or both of these position statement drafts this fall, providing you with opportunities to share feedback in person and/or virtually.   

Thank you for helping us shape these collective, shared resources that support early childhood educators, partnering with families, in creating joyful, equitable learning environments for all. 

Thank you to the workgroup members who have done tremendous heavy lifting in bringing us to this point. 

• Leah Austin, President and CEO, The National Black Child Development Institute 
• Raquel Diaz, Implementation Consultant for Triple P 
• Cynthia DiCarlo, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Louisiana State University 
• Christyn Dundorf, Co-director, Teaching Preschool Partners 
• Zeynep Isik-Ercan, President, National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators and Department Chair of Early Childhood, Rowan University 
• Benita Flores-Muñoz, Member of the NAEYC Commission on Early Childhood Higher Education Accreditation and Retired ECE faculty , Del Mar College 
• Robin Fox, Interim Provost, University of Wisconsin Whitewater 
• *Stacey French-Lee, NAEYC Governing Board Member, and Clinical Assistant Professor, Executive Director of the Campus Child Development Program, Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Georgia State University 
• Heidi Friedel, NAEYC Faith Based Interest Forum Facilitator, Early Childhood Consultant, and Staff Support Specialist for ECE Subhub 
• Eugene Geist, Associate Professor, Louisiana State University 
• Georgia Goldburn, Executive Director, Hope For New Haven and Co-founder,CERCLE 
• *Brian Johnson, NAEYC Governing Board Member, and Assistant Dean, James Madison College at Michigan State University 
• Sim Loh, Public Policy Specialist, First Up: Champions for Early Education 
• Andrea Maldonado, Director of Quality Assessment and Recognition, National Association for Family Child Care 
• Meir Muller, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education,University of South Carolina 
• Ernesto Muñoz, Senior Project Manager of Curriculum Literacy, University of Texas 
• Richelle Patterson, Senior Policy Analyst,  National Education Association
• Anu Sachdev, President, ACCESS and Adjunct ECE Faculty, East Stroudsburg University 
• **Ian Schiefelbein, ECE Faculty, Central New Mexico Community College 
• Ashley Simpson, BIPOC Educator Recruitment and Retention Strategies Program Manager, Aurora Public School District 
• *Toni Sturdivant, NAEYC Governing Board Member, and Director of Early Learning, Mid-America Regional Council 
• Tracy Weston, GAEYC District 1 Representative and Co-Founder, Noah's Ark Preschool Academy of Terrell, Inc. 
• **Reginald Williams, Full Professor of Early Childhood Education, South Carolina State University 

*Current NAEYC Governing Board Members  **Former NAEYC Governing Board Members 

NAEYC is grateful to our funders and supporters who make this work possible, including those who have donated through the Marilyn M. Smith Applied Research Fund

*NUEVO* Miles de ustedes compartieron sus opiniones, necesidades y comentarios a través de encuestas y grupos de discusión. Con esa guía, y liderados por grupos de trabajo extraordinarios compuestos por miembros del Directorio, docentes, socios y asesores, nos honra poder lanzar un período abierto a comentarios del público con versiones borrador de El Código de Conducta Ética y Declaración de Compromiso revisada para su lectura.   

Inglés   Español

Están invitado a participar en el proceso de revisión colectiva con nosotros. Estas son tres maneras en las que puede enviar sus comentarios durante este período:   

1. Responda una encuesta: La NAEYC preparó encuestas para ambas declaraciones, disponibles en inglés y en español . Además de ofrecer oportunidades generales para hacer comentarios, estas encuestas sirven de ayuda para guiarlo hacia algunas áreas en las que buscamos recibir comentarios específicos o preguntas abiertas o sin respuesta.   

Encuesta en inglés   Encuesta en español

2. Envíe sus reflexiones por correo electrónico. La NAEYC asume el compromiso de leer, y traducir si es necesario, todos los comentarios que recibamos, de manera que puede enviar libremente sus ideas, en su idioma de preferencia, directamente a [email protected] .    

3. Participe en conferencias y grupos de discusión. La NAEYC y muchas Afiliadas y Foros de interés organizarán conferencias, reuniones y grupos de discusión y estudiarán uno o ambos borradores de esta declaración de posición durante este otoño y le ofrecerán oportunidades para compartir sus comentarios de manera presencial y/o virtual.

Gracias a ustedes por ayudarnos a dar forma a estos recursos colectivos y compartidos que apoyan a los docentes de educación inicial, en colaboración con las familias, para crear ambientes educativos, disfrutables e igualitarios para todos.  

Gracias a los miembros del grupo de trabajo que han hecho un tremendo trabajo para llegar a este punto. 

• Richelle Patterson, Senior Policy Analyst,  National Education AssociationAnu Sachdev, President,  ACCESS and Adjunct ECE Faculty, East Stroudsburg University 
• Tracy Weston, GAEYC District 1 Representative and Co-Founder,Noah's Ark Preschool Academy of Terrell, Inc. 

NAEYC agradece a nuestros financiadores y patrocinadores que hacen posible este trabajo, incluidos aquellos que han donado a través del Marilyn M. Smith Applied Research Fund.

Position Statements

(Reaffirmation and Updated, 2011)  

• NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct Brochure

Supplements

More ethics resources.

Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: A Resource Guide, Revised Edition

Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator: Using the NAEYC Code, Second Edition

Sample Activities from Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct: A Resource Guide, Revised Edition

Why naeyc has updated the ethics position statements.

In May 2011, the NAEYC Governing Board reaffirmed the 2005 Code and updated this position statement to reflect consistency with the “Supplement for Early Childhood Program Administrators,” which was initially approved in July 2006. Specifically, Section III-C of the Code (Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues / Responsibilities to Employees) was deleted, as these Ideals and Principles are addressed in the Supplement. Other minor modifications were also made to ensure clarity and consistency. In addition, changes were made to Ideals and Principles that regard responsibilities to families to ensure alignment with current family engagement best practices in the field.

The “Supplement for Early Childhood Program Administrators” was also reaffirmed by the NAEYC Governing Board in May 2011, and changes were made to Ideals and Principles that regard responsibilities to families to ensure alignment with current family engagement best practices in the field. In addition, references to the Code of Ethical Conduct, Section III, Part C: Responsibilities to Employees were deleted, as Section III, Part C was deleted in the May 2011 update of the Code.

Energy Innovation Hub teams will emphasize multi-disciplinary fundamental research to address long-standing and emerging challenges for rechargeable batteries

WASHINGTON, D.C . - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $125 million in funding for two Energy Innovation Hub teams to provide the scientific foundation needed to seed and accelerate next generation technologies beyond today’s generation of lithium (Li)-ion batteries. These multi-institution research teams, led by Argonne National Laboratory and Stanford University, will develop scientific concepts and understanding to impact decarbonization of transportation and incorporation of clean energy into the electricity grid.

Rechargeable batteries, such as Li-ion and lead-acid batteries, have had a tremendous impact on the nation’s economy. Emerging applications will require even greater energy storage capabilities, safer operation, lower costs, and diversity of materials to manufacture batteries. Meeting these challenges requires a better understanding of foundational battery and materials sciences to enable scalable battery designs with versatile and reversible energy storage capabilities beyond what is currently possible. Additional benefits may include mitigation of supply chain risks associated with the current generation of batteries.

"Providing the scientific foundation to accelerate this important research is key to our economy and making sure the U.S. plays a lead role in transforming the way we store and use electricity,” said Harriet Kung, DOE’s Acting Director for the Office of Science. “Today's awards provide our Energy Innovation Hub teams with the tools and resources to solve some of the most challenging science problems that are limiting our ability to decarbonize transportation and incorporate clean energy into the electricity grid."

The two Energy Innovation Hub teams are the Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA) led by Argonne National Laboratory and the Aqueous Battery Consortium (ABC) led by Stanford University. ESRA will provide the scientific underpinning to develop new compact batteries for heavy-duty transportation and energy storage solutions for the grid with a focus on achieving unprecedented molecular-level control of chemical reactivity, ion selectivity, and directional transport in complex electrochemical cells. ABC will focus on establishing the scientific foundation for large-scale development and deployment of aqueous batteries for long-duration grid storage technologies.  Both of these teams will prioritize study and use of Earth-abundant materials to mitigate supply chain risks.

Both Energy Innovation Hubs teams are comprised of multiple institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The projects provide an outstanding opportunity for workforce development in energy storage research and inclusive research involving diverse individuals from diverse institutions. 

The teams were selected by competitive peer review under the DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Energy Innovation Hub Program: Research to Enable Next-Generation Batteries and Energy Storage. While focused on basic science, the Funding Opportunity Announcement was developed in coordination through the DOE Joint Strategy Team for Batteries.

Total funding is $125 million for awards lasting up to five years in duration. More information can be found on the Basic Energy Sciences program  homepage and  Energy Innovation Hubs page.

Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a negotiation process, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time. 

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Career Planning for Freshers: A Step-by-Step Guide

• August 31, 2024
• No comments
• 5 minute read

Table of Contents

Understanding career planning: definition and importance, step 1: self-assessment, step 2: research career options, step 3: set smart career goals, step 4: create a career action plan, step 5: seek career counseling and guidance, step 6: implement and monitor your plan, step 7: continuous career development, tools and resources for effective career planning, the balance of career planning and development.

Embarking on your career journey as a fresher is a thrilling yet challenging adventure. With an array of possibilities ahead, it’s crucial to have a well-defined plan to guide you. Career planning is the structured process of identifying your goals, assessing your abilities, and mapping out the steps to realize your professional ambitions. This guide is designed to help you master the art of career planning, equipping you with the tools and insights needed to steer your career in the right direction.

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Before diving into the details, it’s important to grasp the essence of career planning. Career planning is an ongoing process of setting personal career goals and determining the optimal steps to achieve them. It encompasses self-assessment, exploring potential career paths, setting objectives, and crafting a strategy to reach those objectives.

A well-thought-out career plan not only aids in making informed decisions but also keeps you motivated and focused on your long-term goals. As a fresher, dedicating time to career planning will arm you with a roadmap to navigate the complexities of the job market. Whether you’re drafting a career plan post-graduation or charting a course for your initial years, having a career strategy is crucial for success.

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The Career Planning Process: A Step-by-Step Approach

The journey begins with self-assessment. This involves evaluating your interests, strengths, values, and skills. Tools like career planning worksheets or a career planner template can be invaluable at this stage.

Consider the following questions:

• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• Which activities and tasks do I enjoy most?
• What core values guide me, and how do they align with potential career paths?

This self-assessment is foundational, not just for job planning, but for personal growth, setting the stage for realistic and attainable career goals.

Once you have a solid understanding of yourself, the next step is to explore various career paths. Utilize career planning resources such as industry reports, job descriptions, and informational interviews with professionals to gather insights. For fresh graduates navigating the job market for the first time, this phase of career exploration and planning is critical.

After researching your options, it’s time to set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART). These goals act as milestones in your career planning cycle.

For example:

• Short-term goal: Earn a relevant certification within six months.
• Long-term goal: Attain a managerial position within five years.

These goals should align with your overall career strategy and support your growth over time.

With your goals defined, the next step is to develop a practical action plan. This is where a career planner template can be particularly useful. Your action plan should outline the necessary steps to achieve your goals, including acquiring new skills, gaining experience, and networking. This plan serves as your career roadmap, guiding you through each stage of your professional journey.

At this point, it’s wise to seek career counseling or participate in a career planning workshop. Expert guidance can help refine your plan and address any uncertainties. This step is especially beneficial for freshers who can gain valuable insights into job search strategies and industry trends.

Begin taking concrete steps towards your goals, whether it’s enrolling in a course, applying for internships, or networking with industry professionals. Regularly review your career plan and adjust it as necessary. Remember, the career planning process is dynamic, so be ready to adapt as you grow and circumstances evolve.

Career planning doesn’t conclude once you land your first job. It’s an ongoing process that requires continuous learning and adaptation. Keep refining your skills, expanding your network, and reassessing your goals to stay on course.

Need a peaceful environment to assess your career options? Zolostays provides serene coliving spaces perfect for focused planning.

To maximize your career planning efforts, consider these tools and resources:

• Career Planning Sample Format: A structured approach to mapping out your career path.
• Career Planning Worksheet: A tool to help organize your thoughts and plan your steps.
• Career Planner Template: A customizable template to track your progress and milestones.
• Career Planning Workshop: Participate in workshops to gain insights and expert guidance.
• Career Planning Tools: Online tools and apps designed to assist in exploring career options and planning your journey.

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Career planning is a vital skill for freshers stepping into the professional world. By following a structured career planning cycle and utilizing the right tools and resources, you can lay a strong foundation for your career. Remember, career planning isn’t a one-time activity but an evolving process that grows with your professional journey. Stay committed to your plan, and you’ll strike the balance between ambition and achievement.

With a well-crafted career plan post-graduation, you’re not just preparing for your first job; you’re setting the stage for a fulfilling and successful career. Start planning today and take charge of your professional future!

For a supportive and growth-oriented coliving environment, explore Zolostays , where your career and personal life can thrive together.

For successful career planning, consider the following seven steps: 1. Conduct a self-assessment 2. Research career paths 3. Analyse the job market 4. Evaluate required skills 5. Weigh your options 6. Prepare for inteviews 7. Gain work experience

8 Steps to Crafting an Effective Career Plan: 1. Explore your career options 2. Rank your preferences 3. Evaluate your choices 4. Factor in External Considerations 5. Make an Informed Decision 6. Set SMART Goals

In this report, we define early-career workers as individuals aged 18 to 24 who are currently employed. Among these young adults, the gender distribution is evenly split between female and male.

Related Topics

• Career Plan after graduation
• Career Planning
• Career planning for freshers
• Career roadmap
• Career strategy
• Fresh graduate career planning
• Job planning

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Statement by Secretary Xavier Becerra - National Suicide Prevention Month

Suicide is a complex public health problem, that tragically impacts everyone - our friends, family, neighbors, and communities.

The latest data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) show more than 13 million adults seriously thought about suicide last year, nearly four million planned a suicide attempt, and nearly two million attempted suicide. The CDC reports that suicide was the second-leading cause of death among youth and young adults.

This is both gut-wrenching and unacceptable. No one should go through a crisis alone, and no one should ever feel as if they are out of options.

The Biden-Harris Administration has consistently prioritized the health and well-being of Americans. In April this year, we released the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy) and accompanying Federal Action Plan . This strategy, along with the unprecedented interagency coordination demonstrated in the Federal Action Plan, sends a clear message to the American people: we are here for you.

The National Strategy outlines concrete recommendations for addressing gaps and meeting the needs of at-risk populations. Importantly, for the first time, the strategy will include a strategic direction prioritizing equity - an essential requirement to meet the specific and urgent need to address populations disproportionately impacted by suicide. Accompanying the strategy is the first-ever Federal Action Plan, which identifies over 200 discrete actions to be initiated and evaluated over the next three years. The strategy and action plan combined reflect a coordinated and comprehensive approach to suicide prevention at the national, state, Tribal, local, and territorial levels and advances critical partnerships across the public and private sectors.

No program exemplifies our commitment to prevent suicide better than the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Biden-Harris Administration has invested close to $1.5 billion in 988, and in its first two years, the service has managed more than 10 million calls, texts, and chat messages from Americans seeking help. There are now options for non-English speakers, for Veterans, and members of the LGBTQI+ young people. Anyone who reaches out for help gets connected with a trained counselor who offers real support in times of crisis.

During National Suicide Prevention Month, we continue to look at ways to save lives and help people thrive. The fight against suicide is one we can wage together. It requires the dedication and cooperation of every sector of society. Because, again, no one should go through it alone. Confidential help is available, and together, we can help prevent suicide.

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How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Disclosure statement

Eric Rosenbach received funding from the United States government to develop executive education programs.

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President Joe Biden’s recent approval of a major shift in U.S. nuclear weapons strategy highlights the attention the country’s national security officials are paying to Chinese ambitions for influence in the world.

As changes emerge in the types of threats facing the U.S., the American military adjusts its strategic focus, budgets and planning. For instance, after 9/11, the U.S. military refocused away from its Cold War emphasis on preparing for combat against a powerful nation – the Soviet Union – and toward fighting small terrorist and insurgent groups instead.

Over the past decade, the Pentagon’s efforts have shifted back to preparing for what officials call “ great power competition ” among the U.S., Russia and China .

The most important strategic shift that’s evident in planning for great power competition is a focus on deterrence. In classic military strategy, deterrence focuses on making an adversary believe they can never achieve their goals by military force, because the response would be overwhelming and decisive. The National Defense Strategy released in October 2022 – the document that articulates the nation’s goals, objectives and resource allocation for the next two years – explicitly recognizes the potential risk of tensions and open conflict with Russia or China, and it calls for “integrated deterrence” to prevent it. That means combined efforts from the military, intelligence and diplomatic agencies across the U.S. government.

The National Military Strategy – the military’s section of the overarching National Defense Strategy – lays out how the U.S. armed forces will contribute to that effort. As a former assistant secretary of defense and Pentagon chief of staff , I see that the military is focusing on three main goals to achieve integrated deterrence and prevent a conflict with Russia or China.

New operational plans

For the military, integrated deterrence means the armed forces will depend both on where forces are located and what they can do once they’re in action to influence adversaries’ decisions about when, where, how – and whether – to use military force against the U.S. or its interests.

In the shift away from counterterrorism toward preparation for a great power conflict, the Defense Department has developed new ways to deal with the fact that Russia and China, unlike small terrorist groups, can fight in the air, on land and at sea anywhere around the world – and online and in space, too.

First among those methods is what the Pentagon calls “ dynamic force employment ,” in which U.S. military forces are deployed rapidly around the world, without predictable rotation schedules. This approach can reassure allies facing threats from Russia or China.

For example, the U.S. has, at times, deployed as many as 10,000 troops to Poland . The troops are not permanently stationed there, but a continuous presence of U.S. forces keeps Russia guessing about the size and capabilities of the force and demonstrates a commitment to support nervous NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Second is a shift of personnel and capabilities to what is called “ multi-domain operations ,” in which units with different missions across air, land, sea, space and cyberspace plan and train together. That way, they can be prepared to work closely together in actual conflicts.

This level of collaboration allows the nation to respond to threats in a variety of ways. For instance, challenges to American naval power on the high seas do not have to be met directly with corresponding naval action, but instead could be answered with cyberattacks or from space.

This approach might make the Chinese People’s Liberation Army think twice about launching military operations against Taiwan. Not only would the Chinese potentially face a fierce direct conflict, but U.S. cyber and space operations could also disrupt or destroy Chinese military communications, hindering their attack.

Investments in modernization

Recent research has shown that China’s investments in its military personnel and capabilities – particularly in air, naval and nuclear forces – have grown exponentially over the past two decades, to a level estimated at near parity with the United States. This has prompted the U.S. to modernize its own military’s corresponding capabilities. For the 2024 budget, the Department of Defense allocated a whopping US$234.9 billion for programs to support integrated deterrence , which likely represents a 10% increase over previous spending plans.

Some of this money will go to developing and acquiring F-35 fighter jets and building Columbia-class, nuclear-powered submarines . When the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific region, such as Japan, South Korea and Australia , deploy these planes and submarines, they will remind potential adversaries of American military power – which is itself a deterrent against foreign aggression.

Over the past 10 years, China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear weapon supply has alarmed senior policymakers in the U.S. Although then-President Barack Obama pushed countries to envision a world free of nuclear weapons , he approved the most expensive and significant upgrade ever to the U.S. nuclear arsenal. In 2022, the Biden administration renewed a financial commitment to “ field a modern, resilient nuclear triad ” consisting of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles and long-range nuclear bombers.

Advancing technology

In 2019, the Space Force was established as a separate branch of the armed forces and tasked with defending American space-based assets and upholding international law. Because of the importance of satellite communications to military operations and civilian life – including internet connectivity – the Space Force works closely with Cyber Command , the military organization charged with defending the nation against cyberattacks, to prevent malicious hackers from disrupting systems vital to the world, such as the Global Positioning System , widely known as GPS.

Recent intelligence indicates that China plans to conduct destructive cyberattacks against U.S. domestic critical infrastructure, including the electric grid, during any conflict. To counter those plans, Cyber Command continues to enhance its abilities to defend U.S. systems and companies against cyberattacks, as well as to conduct attacks against systems in other countries.

The Pentagon is also seeking to counterbalance China’s rapidly expanding military forces by using artificial intelligence software in a program called the Replicator Initiative . The effort seeks to build thousands of low-cost, AI-directed autonomous aircraft and boats that can be used in combat to “ counter the (Chinese military)’s mass with mass of our own ,” in the words of Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

Integration with allies and partners

The U.S. military has also sought to strengthen alliances with other countries, especially over the past four years of the Biden administration.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine led NATO to expand its membership as well as the numbers and capabilities of troops available to the organization. The U.S. has reinforced its commitment to NATO, increasing troop deployments in Eastern Europe and support for European defense initiatives by committing nearly $3 billion in funding for additional fighter aircraft, air-defense batteries and munitions.

In Asia, around the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean, a vast region that the government often calls “ the Indo-Pacific ,” the U.S. has strengthened alliances with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines by conducting numerous military exercises and increasing military assistance. Efforts like the annual Marine Aviation Support exercise are aimed at countering Chinese military and political influence.

The U.S. has also sought to strengthen its alliances with the U.K. and Australia, with a commitment to sell up to five conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to the Australian navy by 2030.

Collectively, the U.S. has combined all of these efforts into a coordinated approach seeking to avoid open conflict with China and Russia. But the work is not yet done: The global political and military landscape is ever-changing, and new security challenges are always emerging.

Grace Jones , a master’s student in public policy and research assistant at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, contributed research to this article.

• International relations
• Counter-terrorism
• US foreign policy
• US military
• Great power rivalry
• US-China relations
• US-Russia relations
• Great powers

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