title: Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of action research.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Proponents of action research claim that it is not just for researchers, but helps to empower research participants to make changes in practice. This literature review examines some of the evidence for and against a research methodology that might still be unfamiliar to many nurses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Action research often lends itself to small-scale studies and is time-consuming. The value of such a methodology is that it provides a powerful means of improving and enhancing practice.
authors.affiliation: Little Bloxwich Day Hospice, Walsall, West Midlands.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karim
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D015982:Bias; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000193:education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011340:Problem Solving; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D013997:Time Factors; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration