The best way to conduct intervention research: methodological considerations

This article is a theoretical contribution to the debate about which qualitative intervention methodology is best suited to building stronger partnerships between researchers and practitioners in educational research. In the first part of this article, two types of intervention methodologies gaining impact in the field are contrasted in light of Yrjö Engeström’s criticism. This discussion lays the groundwork for the main claim in the second part of this article that dialogical work between researchers and practitioners focusing on ‘contradictions’ and the ‘object of activity,’ can provide analytical tools to improve understanding of challenges in intervention research.