Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the following research question: How does action research serve as a research method in the discipline of Communications? Specifically, this study will approach the question by analyzing existing literature on action research and also performing an action research trial of a new marketing approach using digital telephony. The study finds that action research has a combination of four characteristics that make it a discrete method of research. Action research involves collaboration, invokes change, requires a researcher's vested interest, and allows a kind of knowing that can only come from direct involvement in a change.