Action Research (3cr)

Objective

Students become familiar with approaches and methods of developing worklife practice. By combining practice and research, students produce knowledge for the development of work life. In cooperation with worklife representatives and/or clients, they learn to plan, implement and evaluate an ethically justified development task/project based on action research.

Content

- Action research, research-oriented development, service design as development method
- seeking information, defining a development task/problem and aim, progress of the development process
- methods and data for research-oriented development
- evaluation of the development process and results
- conclusions

Qualifications

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Students are able to describe one approach or method of worklife development. They know how to apply action research in their development process and how to report on the results.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Students are able to compare approaches and methods of worklife development. They know how to apply action research in their development process and how to justify and report on the process, research and development proposals.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Students are able to analyse approaches and methods of worklife development. They are able to plan development action/a development project in cooperation with worklife representatives and/or aged clients. Students know how to analyse the knowledge produced by various methods during the action process, and they are able to justify, evaluate and report on the process, research and development proposals.

Materials

- Heikkinen, H., Rovio, E. ja Syrjälä, L. (toim.) 2007. Toiminnasta tietoon. Kansanvalistusseura.
- Toikko, T. & Rantanen T. 2009. Tutkimuksellinen kehittämistoiminta. Tampere University Press. (soveltuvin osin)