行動研究：一種增強權能的助人工作方法

An Empowering Way of Doing Research and Helping people

助人專業日益重視增強服務對象系統之權力地位與公民權力之課題。增強權能之助人工作與傳統之助人工作有八項明顯不同的特色，如強調平等的夥伴關係和服務對象之主體。行動研究是實踐增強權能之助人工作方法。本文指出﹕行動研究是一種新興的研究典範，集研究、教育、和實踐於一體；在本體論和認識論上自有其基本主張；行動研究也重視信度和效度的課題，但是重點與實證典範不盡相同；研究過程與方法和一般研究形式相近，同樣根據研究問題選擇研就方法進行資料搜集和分析，然而行動研究特別強調在實踐行動中找研究問題、研究者的位置與研究對象的合作信任關係、分析資料要持續地反觀照境而常見行動研究螺旋之特徵。行動研究這一個發展中的研究方法與研究典範，需要行動者在行動中學習。因為行動者各有特色，不同的行動者的行動研究也會有不同的風貌。

Recently human service professions transform themselves into empowering professions. An empowering profession is different from conventional profession in many ways, such as partnership in helping relations and subjectivity of the client. Action research is an approach to realize the empowerment of client. The author argue that action research is on its way becoming an established paradigm. Action research is composed of research, education and praxis. Action research develops its own premises of the researched objects and an epistemological foundation. Action research has its criteria of reliability and validity. An action research project starts from an actual problem situated in daily praxis. In an action research, researcher and the researched implement scientific inquiry in a cooperative and trust climate. They examine an analyze the data reflectively and take action according to their discovery. So a spiral of action research cycle will be seen in process of action research. We learn action research by doing and each action research project has its unique feature.