A community-based action research approach was conducted to answer the research question: How can Jewish Family Service Calgary enhance teamwork and collaborative capacity within their organization? This chapter provides a detailed overview of the inquiry approach, project participants, and explains the inquiry methods, data collection tools, the data collection process, and analysis used to answer the research question. I concluded this chapter with a discussion of ethical considerations surrounding this organizational leadership project.
Inquiry Approach
Community-based action research was a suitable approach for this project because the concept of teamwork and collaboration was evident in both the research question and in the research methodology. Coghlan and Brannick (2009) described action research as a collaborative approach that seeks to provide a climate in which teams work harmoniously and productively to achieve a set of goals. Stringer (2007) described action research as a collaborative and systemic approach to investigation that enables participants to find effective solutions to problems they confront in their everyday lives. According to Stringer, collaboration in action research refers to the active engagement of a research participant in the cyclical research process of inquiry. As participants worked through a three-phase process of observation, reflection, and action, there was an opportunity to develop increased understanding of the issues that confronted them. As participants shared and explored knowledge and experiences and reflected on their situation together, they created solutions to their problems in a constructive and collaborative fashion. My role as a research facilitator was to engage participants in the cyclical research process ―and to support them as they work toward effective solutions to the issues that concern them‖ (Stringer, 2007, p. 24).