Marital and Family Therapist’s Action Research in Light of Some Research Problems: A One-Cycle Example

Some major problems in marital and family therapy (MFT) research remain evident. Practitioners often see research as insufficiently
related to their concerns and want it to be more applicable. Often-used integrative (or eclectic) practices in MFT and their
idiographic nature make the applicability of research even more problematic. Greater use of action research, which often has
been overlooked in MFT, could be useful for addressing some of these problems. There are many types of action research; one
of the most common uses repeating cycles of the four basic steps (observing and gathering information, reflecting, planning,
and acting). In this article the authors’ use of these four steps for studying MFT is presented and discussed in the light
of some research trends and problems. A one-cycle case example is used to illustrate the process.