Canadian Journal of Action Research Volume 12, Issue 1, 2011, pages 45-46 REVIEW ESSAY Burns, A. (2010). Doing Action Research in Language Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners. NY: Routledge. Pp. 196. Reviewed by Trudie Aberdeen, PhD Candidate in Educational Psychology, the University of Alberta Action research is an essential tool that empowers teachers to find their own answers to their own questions. Anne Burns, a well-respected action researcher specializing in foreign language teaching, has been helping teachers from around the globe in their journey to improve their professional practice. Burns divides the content of the book into five chapters, a postscript (which contains two examples of completed action research projects), and a reading list. In the first chapter, “What is action research?”, she identifies the unique attributes of action research and compares it to and contrasts it with other forms of research and other forms of teacher reflection. By the end of the chapter the reader has a very clear understanding of what action research is and what are the steps in the process. She uses the four steps of Kemmis and McTaggart’s (1988) cyclical action research model as a framework for organizing the remaining four chapters of her book. These steps are plan, act, observe, and reflect. In the second chapter titled “Plan”, Burns provides the reader with very clear instructions for beginning an action research project. The first advice that she offers is how to develop clear and appropriate research questions. As any researcher knows, trying to decide which question to ask is extremely important because it determines what kind of answer one will find. At this stage she also gives information on ethical considerations that are particular to the English as a second language or English as a foreign language context. She mentions that action researchers need to be particularly careful about informing vulnerable populations, such as refugees or low-literacy learners, about their rights to participate. Burn’s third chapter, “Act”, instructs the reader about different data collection methods, essential questions to ask oneself before beginning a project, and systematic application of the collection. Although each method is a discipline in its own right, there is sufficient information for the new action researcher to get started. Burns explains how to analyze these data in her chapter called “Observe”. She provides the reader with the usual steps involved conducting simple statistical procedures and in analyzing qualitative data in addition to providing a