About Action Research and how it can be applied to Needs Assessment. Unlike surveys or focus groups or secondary research such as case studies and Statistics Canada, action research not only gathers static information, it seeks to empower the target population through its research. Researchers using action research in a community devastated by substance abuse will make the community leaders in the information gathering process for the purpose of empowering them with that knowledge.
Action research is still a fairly new concept.
It is the result of work in the field by activists and development workers frustrated by conventional, extractive information gathering. It is thought by many in the development world that conventional techniques based on outside indicators are often irrelevant and that the data gathered leads to top-down development. There are 4 essential components to action research. These include participation, negotiation, learning and flexibility. The community in question will participate in the information gathering process.