Definitions
The action research approach:
"Action research involves taking a self-reflective, critical and systematic approach to exploring your own teaching contexts." (Burns, 2010, p. 2)

Action research is a strategy for "reflecting on your teaching [...] done by systematically collecting data on your everyday practice and analysing it in order to come to some decisions about what your future practice should be" (Wallace, 1998, p. 4).

What this means in practice...
... a combination of action (an intervention) and research (collecting and reflecting on data):
"A central aspect of action research is the simultaneous focus on action and research. The action component involves participants in a process of planned intervention, where concrete strategies, processes or activities are developed within the research context. [...] The research element of action research involves the systematic collection of data as planned interventions are enacted, followed by analysis of what is revealed by the data, and reflection on the implications of the findings for further observation and action" (Burns, 2005, pp. 58-59).

Principles 
  • Action research is contextual, small-scale and local - it is specific to a classroom or institutional context (Burns, 1999).
  • It involves a practitioner (in our case, a language teacher or education professional) exploring and analysing their own practice, not (only) observing the practices of others.
  • It is also collaborative - involving collaboration between teachers and students, groups of teachers, teachers and university academics, and/or other educational professionals such as coordinators and managers.
  • It typically follows a process of several cycles in which reflection on the first round of intervention and/or data collection informs a revised plan and a revised intervention (Burns, 2010).
  • Action research in education was originally promoted in the context of curriculum development (Hammersley, 2004; Stenhouse, 1975), which allowed teachers to be involved in having an impact on the broader curriculum - and this remains a very useful context for action research.
  • Many people argue that an important aspect of action research is sharing the findings with others - "systematic enquiry made public" (Stenhouse, 1975, p. 142).

Processes

 PictureKemmis and McTaggart's (1988) cyclical AR model, as cited in Burns (2010, p. 9)
The action research process is typically depicted as a series of cycles, with each cycle involving these four key steps:
  1. planning
  2. action
  3. observation
  4. reflection
These four steps are shown in the figure to the right: Kemmis and McTaggart's (1988) cyclical AR model, as cited in Burns (2010, p. 9).

​However, there are many inter-connecting phases involved in action research, and they often do not follow a linear order - research is messy! Burns (2005,  p. 59) suggests that the following phases are typically included in action research, not necessarily in this order:
  1. exploring: feeling one's way into research topics
  2. identifying: fact finding to begin refining the topic
  3. planning: developing an action plan for gathering data
  4. collecting data: using initial data-gathering techniques related to action
  5. analysing/reflecting: analysing data to stimulate early reflections
  6. hypothesising/speculating: predicting based on analysis/reflection
  7. intervening: changing and modifying teaching approaches
  8. observing: noticing and reflecting on the outcomes of the changes
  9. reporting: verbalising and theorising the processes and outcomes
  10. writing: documenting accounts of the research
  11. presenting: giving reports/presentations on the research

Types of action research
Common types of action research referred to in language teaching are:
  • Collaborative action research (CAR)
  • Exploratory action research (EAR) 
  • Participatory action research (PAR)
Sometimes action research is differentiated in terms of 'technical', 'practical' and 'critical' approaches (Carr & Kemmis, 1986, 2005; Burns, 2005):
  • Technical action research = a problem-solving form of action research which aims to improve the efficacy of the teacher's practice, and which may look for cause-effect relationships
  • Practical action research = the focus is on creating new classroom materials or strategies to improve the teaching and learning processes
  • Critical action research = those involved use the research process to critique the broader social, cultural and political powers that influence education and their particular context, and to aim for more democratic and equal practices ​

References
  • Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Burns, A. (2005). Action research: An evolving paradigm? Language Teaching, 38(2), 57-74.
  • Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for practitioners. New York & London: Routledge.​
  • Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and action research. Deakin University, Victoria: Deakin University Press.
  • Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (2005). Staying critical. Educational Action Research, 13(3), 347–358. 
  • Hammersley, M. (2004). Action research: a contradiction in terms? Oxford Review of Education, 30(2), 165–181.
  • Stenhouse, L. (1975). An introduction to curriculum research and development. London: Heinemann.
  • ​Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.