In this introductory assignment, you are asked to identify and describe an opportunity for growth or change in your professional context that you would like to advance through action research. Compose a short narrative of 250 to 350 words as a description of your research interests, and you may draw upon the Unit 1 discussions.

This assignment challenged me to reflexively think about the opportunities for growth in my professional context. The growth is by way of a personal journey of transformative learning through the methodology of an action research case study, notably with a focus on health and well-being.  The anticipated research topic will be “Investigating the Impact of Retirement On RCMP officers’ Wellbeing.” My research interest and topic lie in participatory action research, forwarding surveys and conducting interviews focusing on working “with” rather than “upon” participants. Values used as the cornerstones will be respect, beneficence, integrity, and justice. The key features will be 1) to establish a collaborative relationship with participants I know as a sample of interest, 2) ensure the dialogue is more informal and dynamic, 3) rely on easy to access descriptive measures, and 4) look to inform practice where participants systematically solve the issues. My research will touch ordinary people in a meaningful and relevant way.

I have never conducted a research project of this magnitude. It will be exciting to identify a community of practice where participants share interests and goals to improve their situation. In formal or traditional research, a driving concern is generalizability. My research results should apply to a larger group of people; however, I am interested in a small group of participants whereby generalizability can be important but not a priority. I will be working under the assumption that my participant’s results remain similar from year to year, i.e., what I find out next year will likely be the same as the following year and the year after that.

            This learning opportunity will allow me to go forward and work beyond my social research and exceed expectations. Self-reflection is just one tool while I look through several research lenses rather than just my own. This will help me learn to take control of my learning. The growth I am looking forward to is gaining the confidence and knowledge that I will satisfy all requirements of my research project with credibility and rigour. Knowing and acknowledging my personal history while utilizing reflexivity and self-awareness will help cement these goals. Because my findings will generalize to the greater world, the results will impact future work, and the data will benefit all stakeholders. It will be personal!