Action Research
Juma Lungo
PhD Candidate
University of Oslo
15th September 2005
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Qualitative Research Methods
• Case Study Research
• Ethnography
• Grounded Theory
• Interpretive Research
• Action Research
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Action Research
• Action research has been typified as a
way to build
– theory,
– knowledge, and
– practical action
• by engagement with the world in the
context of practice itself
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Action Research
• Is a research approach, which has the
dual aims of action and research
– action to bring about change in some
community or organisation or program;
– research to increase understanding on
the part of the researcher or the client,
or both
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Action Research
• Action research aims to contribute both to
the practical concerns of people in an
immediate problematic situation and to the
goals of social science by joint
collaboration within a mutually acceptable
ethical framework
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Phases of Action Research
• The most prevalent description of action
research details a five phase, cyclical
process which can be described as an
‘ideal’ exemplar of the original formulation
of action research
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Phases of Action Research
• This ideal approach first requires the
establishment of a ‘client-system
infrastructure’ or research environment
• Then, five identifiable phases are iterative:
– (1) diagnosis,
– (2) action planning,
– (3) action taking,
– (4) evaluating, and
– (5) specifying learning
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Phases of Action Research
DIAGNOSING
Identifying or
Defining a Problem
SPECIFYING
LEARNING
Identifying general
findings
ACTION PLANNING
Considering alternative
courses of action
CLIENT SYSTEM
INFRASTRUCTURE
Specification and agreement
that constitutes the research
environment
EVALUATING
ACTION TAKING
Studying the outcomes
of an action
Implementing
a course of action
RESEARCH PROBLEM AREA
Ministry of Health
• Routine health delivery
services
– Basic health services at
community level, health
posts, dispensaries,
health centres, and
hospitals
• Decision-making and
health planning take place
at the top (Ministry, and
provincial levels)
Province
District
Health posts,
dispensaries,
health centres,and
Hospitals
CBD, TBA, VHW
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Why HIS?
- Patients/clients at a remote
health facility.
- Health planner at the Ministry
of Health,
- How does health planners at “ah! the number of clients has
the Ministry of Health plan
increased this year. The health
for these health facility clients facility needs one more Nurse”
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• What are the existing problems of the
health information systems in
Tanzania?
• How can a computer database be
implemented at the district level in
order to serve as a Health Data
Analysis tool?
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• To assess problems of the district
health information system
• To design, develop and implement a
prototype, DHIS, at the district level
• To identify how learning gathered in
HISP network can be useful in
Tanzania
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RESEARCH SETTINGS
• Five districts in Tanzania Mainland
– Bagamoyo, Kibaha, Temeke, Ilala, and Kinondoni
• Four districts in Zanzibar
– Micheweni, Chakechake, North A, and North B
• Two Hospital
– Mnazi Mmoja and Chakachake
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ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE
• Establishment of a ‘client-system infrastructure’ or
research environment
HISP memorandum signed between University and
Ministry of Health (identifications of HISP pilot sites)
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ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE
Phase
Specific Activities
• Semi-structured interviews with health staff
• Observations on health data collection and analysis
Diagnosing • Use of checklists by inspecting data registers, analysis
tools, and health workers staffing level
• Assessing available computers and computer programs
Action
planning
• Acquiring DHIS Software from HISP network
• Developing strategies for importing baseline data to DHIS
• Acquiring sample health indicators
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ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE
Phase
Action
taking
Evaluation
Specific Activities
• DHIS database setup and Data importation
• Translating DHIS in Swahili language
• Reviewing health data collection forms
• Designing new health data collection forms
• Training health workers on Computer Literacy
• Training health workers on Health data analysis
• Group Discussions with health workers
• DHIS demonstration
• Testing newly designed data collection forms
• Calculating indicators
• Comparative with baseline data
• Retrospective testing
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ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE
Phase
Specifying
learning
Specific Activities
• Presentations and Fieldwork reports
• Publications: Theses and Scientific papers
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Balancing Action and Research
• Organize the actions into small units which can be
completed in short time
• Take field notes on every action
– Actions includes: fieldwork entrance letters, fixing
computers items, meetings and workshops
• Anything that consumes our time in the field is part
of the action
• Use some known data analysis techniques
– Align our field notes empirical material in those
techniques
• Think and make sense of the actions and results
– Sometime is required to be away from the field
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Field notes
• Field notes should be written as soon as
possible after leaving the field site, immediately
if possible
• Plan to leave a block of time for writing just after
leaving the research context
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METHODOLOGY
• Data Collection Methods
– Semi-structured interviews
– Participant observations
– Analysis of documents
– Use of checklists: data registers, analysis
tools, and health workers
– Software prototyping process
– Group discussions and Training
workshops
– Video/still pictures
– Analysis of press media reports
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Data Analysis and Presentation
• Empirical materials are presented in
– Descriptive statistics (quantitative data)
– Excerpts of encoded user reactions
– Screen shots of programs
– Field documents
– Photos
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Data Analysis and Presentation
• Example: qualitative excerpts of encoded user
reactions
“No EPI data set, no HIV data, it is missing a
lot of information”
(DHIS User, Bagamoyo district, February 17, 2005)
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Data Analysis and Presentation
• A model and measurement instrument for
the formation of Information Systems
satisfaction (7-point semantic differential)
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Data Analysis and Presentation
• Example: Software evaluation
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Data Analysis and Presentation
• Example: Software evaluation
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Data Analysis and Presentation
• Screen shots
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Concluding Remarks
• Knowledge created in action
research is not sometime utilized
immediately
–Does not bring up radical changes
• Interviews, Observations,
Questionnaires, and site documents
work together to support the research
claims.
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Concluding Remarks
• Secondary Sources of Data
– Documents from the fields
– Photos and video taking
– Excerpt from interviewee
• Depict originality of the research
• Acknowledgement
– Try to write somebody’s name correctly
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Thanks
The End
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