"Most, if not all, graduate students in education-and, in particular, inservice teachers seeking graduate degrees-are required to complete a course in educational research methods. The majority of these courses provide a broad overview of educational research methods, designs, and techniques. However, I would argue that graduate-level research methods courses taught to inservice teachers could be more suitable if the appropriate instructional materials were available to instructors and students, such that they focus on a classroom-based approach to research. Most research methods courses-and, therefore, their appropriate textbooks-follow the description that I offer above, in that they are "survey" courses (i.e., those that provide an overview of a variety of research methods). There are numerous texts that meet this description. In contrast, relatively fewer books focus specifically on action research as a methodology, and even fewer do so with the target audience of practicing educators in mind. The purpose of this book is to introduce educators to the process of conducting their own classroom-based or school-based action research. Detailed but practical information describing each step of the cyclical, iterative process is presented in a sequential manner. Educators are provided with an overview of traditional educational research prior to examining action research as a mechanism for designing and conducting their own applied research projects. The focus is not on the theoretical aspects of educational research but rather on the practical facets of conducting applied classroom and/or school research. As presented in this textbook, action research is not simply a means of conducting applied research. It is also a mechanism for engaging educators in reflective practice and customizing professional development opportunities to capitalize on the unique interests of individual educators or teams of educators"-- Provided by publisher.