The three threats of action research: a discussion of methodological antidotes in the context of an information systems study

A review of the research methods literature presents and discusses three main threats inherent in action research, called "uncontrollability", "contingency", and "subjectivity"; and three methodological antidotes to deal with these three action research threats.

Abstract

This paper provides a brief historical discussion of action research (AR), from its emergence as a distinct research approach after World War II to its relatively recent use in the field of information systems (IS). Based on a review of the research methods literature, it presents and discusses three main threats inherent in action research, called “uncontrollability”, “contingency”, and “subjectivity”; and three methodological antidotes to deal with these three action research threats, called “unit of analysis”, “grounded theory”, and “multiple iterations”. Both the threats and the antidotes are discussed in the context of a real information systems action research study that investigated the impact of computer support on the success of group-based business process improvement (BPI) attempts.