Action research is also critically reflective. They refine the questions they are asking and the methods they are using and the understanding and subsequent action plans they are developing. Action research commonly proceeds like this. The researcher, again often involving clients as co-researchers, plans the first or next step. This is then carried out.
Researchers meet to recollect and critique their experience.
In short, action research alternates between action and critical reflection. The reflection consists first of analysing what has already happened in previous steps, and then of planning what next step to take. Different research paradigms serve different purposes. It may with benefit be used in some situations where quasi-experimental designs are presently used. But there are other situations where experimentation or quasi-experimentation may be far better suited.