Theory and method: Why action research does not separate them

This is a combined introduction to two associated papers. Both are occasioned by the publication of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research (Coghlan & Brydon-Miller, 2014), and an invitation from its editors, David Coghlan and Mary Brydon-Miller to use the publication as an opportunity to review the present state of action research. The focus of one of the papers, by Davydd Greenwood (2015, this issue) , is on the theory and concepts of action research. The other paper, by Bob Dick (2015) , addresses how action research is done: that is, its methodology and methods. And therein lies a difficulty. The two papers, and their corresponding dimensions of action research, are necessarily intertwined. The theory and concepts determine the research approach. The approach, in turn, yields the data and the experiences that between them generate or modify the theory and concepts.