Abstract This paper considers those interpretations of action research that can be traced
to Kurt Lewin at the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan,
and the work in social ecology by Emery and Trist at the Tavistock Institute. It locates the
logical basis of these interpretations in the philosophy of pragmatism, particularly as it
relates to Peirce’s inferential logic and inquiry system. Drawing on this argument, and on
the significant developments in approaches to systemic thinking over the past 40–50 years,
a normative set of criteria is established for action research. The paper concludes that both
positivist science (which relates to closed systems thinking) and action research (which
relates to open systems thinking) are essential to any complete scientific approach