McNiff：《Action Research: All You Need to Know》,2017

Action Research: An Overview of Essential Information
Action research is described in this book as a practitioner-led approach that focuses on enhancing one’s own practice via an ongoing cycle of action and reflection.

Essential Ideas:

Cyclical Process: Each cycle of the spiraling, iterative Plan → Act → Observe → Reflect process enhances comprehension and improves practice.

Self-Improvement: “How do I improve my work?” is the central question that drives action research. In order to improve professional efficacy, it places a strong emphasis on personal inquiry. 

“Living Theory”: Theory is not abstract; rather, it arises from and is tested in practice. It is an individualized, values-based framework that changes as the practitioner acts.

Educational Accountability: Practitioners are accountable for their work and must explain how their efforts result in improvements.

I was better able to comprehend my project as a continuous process of learning by doing thanks to McNiff’s idea of action research. Planning, acting, observing, and reflecting comprise the cyclical structure of action research, with each step influencing the subsequent one (McNiff, 2017). This paradigm is strongly related to my research into the sources of my sense of security at home.

For instance, I started by looking at my everyday surroundings and noting things, rituals, and smells that made me feel at ease. I subsequently took action by recording these encounters and looking into related online conversations. I identified patterns through observation and introspection, especially the link between childhood memory and scent. As I develop my ideas and turn them into design concepts, this process keeps changing.

In this way, my effort might be viewed as a type of “living theory,” in which knowledge is constantly formed by my own experiences and deeds rather than being static. Instead of keeping research and practice apart, I’m starting with my own experiences to create a more comprehensive design approach that emphasizes emotional and sensory well-being.

McNiff, J. (2017) Action Research: All You Need to Know. London: Sage.