Action Research Proposal: Literature Review
The purpose of a literature review is to know what others have discovered about your topic before you begin your own investigation. Relevant, peer-reviewed articles help you better understand the identified problem (issue, concern, or need) and locate
information and evidence for best-practice problem solutions and interventions you may want to incorporate into your action research proposal. Use the three research questions you
wrote in Module 1 to guide your exploration of the potential solution/intervention you
proposed and other possible solutions/interventions.
Research Question One: Will ____ improve ____?
Research Question Two: Why would ____ impact ____?
Research Question Three: How will ____ improve ____?
Based on what you learn from the literature, you may decide to keep the potential
solution/intervention you proposed in Module 1, modify the strategy, or select a different
strategy. The literature review should also help you decide on a research method (qualitative, quantitative, or a mix of the two) and give you ideas for collecting data and
planning what to do next.
In the Module 1 assignment, you selected a problem (issue, concern, or need) in
professional practice, discussed the problem and purpose and developed 3 research
questions to guide the literature review for your action research proposal. As a part of
your purpose, you also proposed one or more potential solutions/interventions for the
identified problem (issue, concern, need) in your professional practice/workplace
setting. In this assignment, you will complete the literature review by selecting,
evaluating, and synthesizing 5-6 peer-reviewed articles from the ACE library.
Your goal in conducting the literature review is to identify best-practice solution(s) or
intervention(s) you may implement related to the identified problem (issue, concern, or
need) and then decide on the solution or intervention you will implement in your action
research proposal. See the Learning Objects page for literature review resources.
Step 1. Access and Review
Access and review the Action Research Proposal Overview page, the Action Research
Proposal Outline (linked on the Module 1 Learning Objects page), and the draft of your
Module 1 assignment.
Step 2. Locate
In the ACE library, locate 5-6 current, peer-reviewed articles relevant to your topic. In
your search, place a check in the box for peer reviewed. “Current” means
the article has a publication date within the past 5 years. NOTE: To develop an effective
literature review, you must (1) analyze (disassemble) the individual articles to obtain the main ideas and other key information and (2) synthesize (reassemble) the main ideas
and other key information from the multiple sources under thematic headings to
develop the paragraphs forming the body of your literature review. The analysis is
preparatory work, and the synthesized paragraphs become part of your action research proposal.
Step 3. Read and Analyze
Read each article you selected carefully and analyze the
article by identifying the main ideas and other key information related to your selected topic. Look specifically for potential best-practice solutions and interventions for your identified problem (issue, concern, or need). You should also look for information on research methodologies, the action research design, and data collection and action planning ideas. Follow this process for each of the 5-6 articles.
Step 4. Determine
From the article analyses, determine 7-8 themes or patterns in the information. Potential themes include the extent or prevalence of the problem (issue, concern, need); causes of the problem; methodologies; description of the action research design; best-practice solutions and interventions; and gaps in the literature or “unknowns” related to the problem, and action planning ideas. The selected themes will serve as
headings in the literature review in Step 7.
Step 5. Synthesize
Using the themes and the main ideas/key information from the multiple sources,
synthesize or combine the related ideas from the articles into paragraphs. Be sure to include best-practice solutions and interventions. These paragraphs become the body of your literature review in Step 7. See the Learning Objects page for information on how to write a literature review and synthesize articles.
Step 6. Introduce
Write an introductory paragraph for the literature review. Start with an
introductory sentence on the problem (issue, concern, or need) that hooks the readers.
Include an explanation of your approach to the literature review, including the research
questions from Module 1 used to guide the review and the best-practice solution and
intervention strategies identified in the articles.
Step 7. Write
Write the body of the literature review. Introduce the section with a discussion of the articles as a group (1-2 paragraphs detailing the common themes you found in the articles). Then, insert the synthesis paragraphs (Step 5) with headings for each of the common themes/ideas.
Step 8. Conclude
Conclude the literature review with an explanation of how the
literature review informs your action research proposal. Identify and explain the best-
practice problem solution or intervention you have selected for implementation and information you may have gained on action research techniques.
Step 9. Cite and Reference
Use APA format for in-text citations and the reference page(s). Add to the reference
page(s) as you progress through the module assignments.
Step 10. Compile
Compile your work from Module 2 in one Word document.
Step 11. Submit
Submit the literature review for your action research proposal.
Save a copy of the Module 2 assignment for use in Module 5.
Resources: Articals to read
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=ccm&AN=145144331&site=eds-live&scope=site&authtype=sso&custid=ns083389
Research-proposal-outline
V. Literature Review (bold and centered)
A. Introduction (No heading)
i. Start with an introductory sentence on the topic that hooks the readers.
ii. Restate the problem in the study verbatim.
iii. Restate the purpose of the study verbatim. 3 © 2021 AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 3 iv.
Introduce the best-practice solution(s) and intervention(s) identified in the literature. v. Introduce the major sections
of the literature review.
B. Review of Current Literature (bold and centered)
i. Gather information from 5-6 peer-reviewed research articles published within the past 5 years.
1. Discuss the articles as a group (1-2 paragraphs).
ii. Synthesize the articles by combining ideas from multiple articles under themes. Use a heading to designate each
the me (bold and flush left) Include best-practice solution(s) and intervention(s) appropriate to the problem, issue, concern, or need as a theme.
C. Gaps in the Literature (bold and flush left)
i. Include information that is missing and could be included in your study.
D. Summary and Conclusions (bold and flush left)
i. Conclude the literature review with an explanation of how your action research proposal relates to the literature.
Include the best-practice or intervention strategy that will be included in the research proposal.
ii. Pull together ideas about what is known, what you still need to find out, and the need for your study.
iii. Recap the themes and major findings from the 5-6 articles.