Macro-structures of action research articles: Old bottles for new wine?

Owing to the pressure on higher education institutions to produce scholarship of societal relevance, action research (AR) has in the last decade gained much legitimacy in various disciplines of social sciences as can be evidenced by the growth of AR journals and increasing editorial space devoted to AR articles in established journals that have in the past published positivist work mainly. AR readers for beginners and AR manuals have also proliferated, many of which include instruction in AR-reporting and dissemination. Two observations about this body of literature are worth some attention. One is that the advice offered varies greatly. With AR’s distinct epistemological assumptions, as well as its cyclical, emergent, and reflective nature, some writers propose experimenting with alternative forms of writing (e.g., Canagarajah, 2016) such as performing art (e.g., Fisher & Phelps, 2016) which break away from existing traditional norms typical of positivist writing. They also encourage AR authors to disseminate outcomes in less conventional outlets (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) which allow greater creativity and flexibility (see, e.g., Stringer, 2014). Yet, given that academics nowadays are required to publish in recognized journals, other AR manuals offer less radical suggestions such as adapting existing formats and writing styles such that they will be recognizable (and hence acceptable) to journal gatekeepers. Another observation is that advice from both camps has mostly drawn on anecdotal evidence coming from students’ theses and has rarely been informed by systematic analyses of published AR articles. This paper is an attempt to address the research gap by examining the macro-structures of AR articles published in journals of tourism and hospitality. Findings suggest that AR writers employ various strategies to improvise the macro-structures of their writing out of the traditional IMRD format, giving rise to distinct forms which set them apart from positivist and interpretivist writing.