Research cycles

From Dar

Action Research and therefore Distributed Action Research are systematically structured around iterative cycles of research. The aim is to implement the results of the research during the research process rather than afterwards, and to change the nature of the actions for improvement as the research progresses rather than evaluate the result of implementing a preconcieved intervention based on existing literature alone.

When planning cycles then, it may not be possible to plan more than one cycle ahead in terms of what actions are going to be taken and how the cycle is going to be implemented, but it is usually possible and in fact desirable to map out a timeline for the future cycles, with a strict deadline as to when a cycle is going to end, otherwise it can all merge together into an indistinct process.