Use of research-action in administration: political engagement or practice intervention?

Abstract

Action research is an argumentative research approach that, when applied to organizational studies, can have a dual orientation: political engagement, with a focus on improving the subjects' living conditions, or practical intervention, aimed at solving organizational problems through consultancies. This study aims to analyze the application of action research in Administration, in the national and international scenario, from the databases and periodicals indexed to Capes. We selected 16 national and 7 international papers that indicated the use of this methodological approach in the development of their research. The data were collected from a bibliographic research, with descriptive character and qualitative approach. The results show that, although they affirm that they have used action research in their studies, in part of the articles analyzed it is not possible to verify the application of action research. There are also indications that, in general, the authors do not adequately distinguish their intentions with the use of action research and that their use is predominant in the search for improvements of organizational processes, starting from the search for solution of problems evidenced by the organizations.