ABSTRACT
One of the important principles of action research is that the action plan is informed by the literature, and to meet this criterion, researchers aim to show how a critical and analytic study of (usually) recent literature has informed their research question and subsequent research action. But why? Why not just pick a topic and have a go? Bell (1993) gives a thought-provoking reason why. She explains that, ‘Action researchers who read are enriching their experience… and those who don't, will inevitably engage in unproductive reinventing of the wheel.'
