The diagram below describes the complete sequence of an action research cycle. The action research cycle As you can see in the diagram, evaluation is not a separate process, carried out by others, but a fundamental part of action-research. These units are designed to enhance children's capacities to conduct useful research in their everyday community. All children can usefully carry out research from the early elementary school years through the teenage years. In fact mixed age grouping is ideal for research because of the capacity of children with different abilities to learn from one another.
Considerable emphasis is given to the use of alternative forms of media to writing.
This enables younger children and less literate children to participate. It is also a valuable way of recognizing the different 'learning styles' of children. It is also excellent for enabling children with very different abilities to work together. The diagram below suggests very broadly the range of kinds of research activities that children of different ages might be interested in and capable of conducting. Children's Developing Capacities and Interests in Research.