Quality criteria for action research narratives

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Narratives about the truth of narratives
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OpettajanElämää
A narrative-biographical research team University
of Oulu
TeacherLife
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Hannu L. T. Heikkinen Rauno Huttunen Leena Syrjälä
On the Problem of Quality in Narratives of
Action Research

• Presented at the European Conference on
  Educational Research
• University College Dublin September 9th 2005
• NETWORK 13 Philosophy of Education

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Action research reports are narrative in nature

• the beginning, the middle and the end
• plot-elements of recognition (anagnorisis),
  reversal (peripeteia) and suffering (pathos)
  (Aristotle 1958, 1452a-1452b).

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The Truth?
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Is The Truth what is really needed?
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• reliability and validity

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• reliability and validity
• gt credibility, persuasiveness, verisimilitude,
  compellingness, explanatory power, moral
  persuasiveness, interactivity, vulnerability and
  therapeutic value (e.g. Hatch Wisniewski 1995,
  129 Ellis Bochner 2000, 752 - 760).

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The classical truth theories

• Heikkinen, H., Kakkori, L. Huttunen, R. 2001.
  This is my truth, tell me yours Some aspects of
  action research quality in the light of truth
  theories. Educational Action Research 9 (1), 9
  24.

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• The classical truth theories..?

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or something else
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• Richard Winter (ECER2000 Edinburgh)
• reflexive principle
• dialectical principle

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• Richard Winter
• reflexive principle
• the text is a world created by the writer, who is
  thoroughly aware of his creative role
• a reflexive researcher consciously reflects on
  his or her pre-insights

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• Richard Winter
• dialectical principle
• from a (modernist) monologue into polyphony of
  voices
• the social reality being constituted through an
  ongoing interaction
• different interpretations and voices even
  dissonant ones
• the researcher wants to respect the complexity
  and stratification of reality in his/her research
  report

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Quality principles for action research narratives

• Principle of reflexivity
• Principle of dialectics
• Principle of historical continuity

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1. Principle of historical continuity

• Analysis of the history of action how has the
  action evolved historically?
• Emplotment how logically and coherently does the
  narrative proceed?

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2. Principle of reflexivity

• Subjective adequacy what is the researchers
  relationship with his/her object of research
  like?
• Ontologic and epistemologic presumptions what
  are the researchers presumptions of knowledge
  and reality?
• Transparency how does the researcher describe
  his/her material and methods?

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3. Principle of dialectics

• Dialogue how has the researchers insight
  developed in dialogue with others?
• Polyphony how does the report present different
  voices and interpretations?
• Authenticity how authentically the voices seem
  to have presented?

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Quality principles for action research narratives

• 1. Principle of historical continuity
• 2. Principle of reflexivity
• 3. Principle of dialectics

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something still needed..?
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something still needed..?

• What works is only true
• - William James

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4. Principle of workability

• Pragmatic quality how well does the research
  succeed in creating workable practices?
• Criticalness what kind of discussion does the
  research provoke?
• Ethics how are ethical problems dealt with?
• Empowerment does the research make people
  believe in their own capabilities and
  possibilities to act and thereby encourage new
  practices and actions?

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Quality principles for action research narratives

• 1. Principle of historical continuity
• 2. Principle of reflexivity
• 3. Principle of dialectics
• 4. Principle of workability

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something still needed..?

• Aristotle
• Logos, ethos and pathos
• Michael Quinn Patton (2002)
• artistic and evocative criteria

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5. Principle of evocativeness

• Evocativeness how well does the research evoke
  mental images, memories or emotions related to
  the theme?

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Quality principles for action research narratives

• 1. Principle of historical continuity
• 2. Principle of reflexivity
• 3. Principle of dialectics
• 4. Principle of workability
• 5. Principle of evocativeness