This book defines an epistemological agenda for action research, one that challenges the conventional academic social sciences on epistemological and ethical grounds. It gives an overview of different approaches so that researchers can find their own perspectives within the field. Methodologies and fieldwork tools are described. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: Action Research, Diversity, and Democracy"; (2) "A History of Action Research"; (3) "Action Research Cases from Practice I: The Stories of Stongfjorden and Mondragon"; (4) "Scientific Methods and Action Research"; (5) "An Epistemological Foundation for Action Research"; (6) "The Friendly Outsider: Knowledge and Skills in Action Research"; (7) "Local Knowledge, Congenerative Research, and Narrativity"; (8) "Action Research Cases from Practice II"; (9) "Pragmatic Action Research"; (10) "Empowerment and Liberation: Southern Participatory Action Research and Contemporary Feminist Analyses"; (11) "Action Science and Organizational Learning"; (12) "Human Inquiry, Cooperative Inquiry, and Action Inquiry"; (13) "Educational Strategies"; and (14) "Participatory Evaluation and Participatory Rural Appraisal." (Contains 205 references.) (SLD)