Recipe or performing art?
Challenging conventions for writing action research
theses
Kath Fisher
Renata Phelps
Southern Cross University, Australia
Available online at:
http://arj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/4/2/143?etoc
This article explores the tensions and incongruities
between conventional thesis presentation and the
principles of action research. Through the experiences
of the authors alternative approaches to thesis
structure are proposed which are argued to be more
congruent with the epistemological, methodological and
ethical aspects of action research. Consistent with
our arguments, the article is presented as a play. Act
I considers the tensions facing research students
wishing to write up their action research in the
context of conventional thesis writing requirements;
Act II consists of four ‘scenes’, each of which
illustrates a key learning arising from our own
stories: writing in the researcher as central to the
research; staying true to the unfolding research
story; using metaphor; and finally, weaving literature
throughout the thesis. Act III considers the
challenges of examination in the face of breaking with
tradition. We conclude with a ‘curtain call’ from the
narrator that offers a reflexive engagement with the
main themes of the article.
___________________________________________________________
All New Yahoo! Mail – Tired of Vi@gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html
|