Table 1 Strengths and weaknesses of RCTs and Action Research

   Epistemology (positivist, critical, interpretivist)

Positivist

Critical, interpretivist

   Ways of knowing

One

Many

Aim and design

   Aims at improvement

Yes

Yes

   Aims to measure effectiveness of a clinical intervention

Yes

Yes, among other things

   Co-design of research plan, involving participants

No

Yes

   Participatory and democratic

No

Yes

   Controls for bias and confounding factors

Yes

No

   Accounts for and investigates context, social processes, patient engagement, equity

No

Yes

   Measures context-dependent interventions and interactions

No

Yes

   Incorporates complexity

Limited

Yes

   Creates communicative space

At design phase

Throughout

Methods

   Quantitative methods

Yes

Not necessarily

   Qualitative methods

No

Primarily

   Blinding

Yes

No

   Intervention improvement via cyclical iterations

No

Yes

Results/findings

   Design adjusted concurrent to emerging findings

No

Yes

   Derives data and results from practice of reflexivity

No

Yes

   Emergence (new, unexpected/expected knowledge)

Yes, as incidental findings, unintended consequences

Yes, as emergent findings specifically sought

   Results in immediate multidimensional change

No

Yes

   Results in later change in clinical practice

Yes

Yes