Action research tends to be participative. Especially in its more participative forms it is likely to be regarded as credible and trustworthy by its participants. However, rigour can still be an issue with a wider audience. There, action research draws upon many sources of rigour which are also to be found in other qualitative approaches. Other sources of rigour capitalise on the specific features of action research, particularly its cyclic and action-oriented nature.
Most cycles contain action, each action a test of the assumptions which underlie it.
Attention to these tactics can strengthen the rigour of the research. Some of the principles which these tactics illustrate may also be of relevance to other varieties of qualitative research. As an adult I was educated first as engineer, then as experimental psychologist. These enhanced my natural scepticism. Experimental research had evolved to protect the researcher against these threats.