Taking action in your research

es to a few common questions researchers have about it. What does this mean in terms of the practical execution of the research activities? AR requires iterative “planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action” [2,3]. That is to say, AR does not have a prescribed set of steps to follow and is not a method in the traditional sense. If AR is not a method, then what is it? AR is an approach to research that commits a necessarily interdisciplinary research team to act democratically and collaboratively. Research must be undertaken with people experiencing real problems in their everyday lives, not for, about, or focused on them. If AR is not a method, what methods does it use? AR can incorporate multiple methods and welcomes the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The only methods not applicable to an AR approach are those that distance researchers from problems and questions of inquiry to ensure “objectivity” or avoid “contamination.” AR builds on the many democratic and inclusive approaches to research to focus on highly contextualized, localized solutions (see [4] for a review of the history). In the end, scholarship in AR is about the ability to transfer knowledge (and sometimes solutions themselves) between contexts and domains, not to generalize knowledge or solutions to a larger case. Given the tion, sustainability, and green IT; HCI solutions for developing and conflict-ridden nations; and so on. And of course, HCI has a strong tradition of participatory, cooperative, and democratic design orientations, such as Scandinavian and participatory design. Anyone who does this kind of work is familiar with the critique that it is not sufficiently systematic, generalizable, or, dare I say, scientific. At the same time, we interventionists are not immune to being overly critical at times, and can be found lamenting the impracticality and infeasibility of many research solutions. While we will never satisfy fundamentalists at either end of the scholarly distance versus local cooperative pragmatism debate, action research offers a systematic collaborative approach to conducting research in HCI that satisfies the need for both scientific rigor and promotion of sustainable social change. Action research is learning by doing, a form of research that necessitates taking some action for the dual purpose of addressing a problem and learning something from that action. AR “aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people” in problematic situations and to the academic goals of science “by joint collaboration with a mutually acceptable ethical framework” [1]. To help clarify what action research entails, here are responsHow can you make a real difference in the world? Whether through volunteer work, joining a service profession like teaching, or just in our everyday behaviors, many struggle to answer this question all the time. To some, science and research are divorced from this inherent human need to make positive changes in the world—if not divorced, at least distanced. However, more and more designers and researchers in HCI are challenging that long-held view. We can, in fact, create positive social change and simultaneously do good research. It’s just a matter of slightly changing the way we think about both scholarship and participation in research. It helps to borrow from other disciplines, such as education and the social sciences, that have been doing it for years. To that end, I have found action research (AR) to be helpful in ensuring highquality change and high-quality scholarship in cooperative and participatory research. interactions readers are no strangers to the idea of work having broader impacts. The CHI Social Impact Award in many ways applauds just these kinds of efforts. Judy Olson recently presented on this topic in her Athena Award keynote at the CSCW conference. The NSF has used broader impacts as criteria for grants for years. Papers published at CHI and other HCI venues often focus on social issues, such as healthcare, educain te ra c ti o n s J u ly + A u g u s t 2 0 1 2