In action research, there is a dilemma between practitioner externalization leading to descriptions of work processes and theory building. Practitioners like the externalizations that describe and help them identify their daily work. This differs from the researchers’ goal to situate the studied work processes in more abstract understandings such as moving from practice to theory. In the throws of action re-search, it can be difficult for the researchers to separate these two, especially when they are intertwined in data being gathered. To propose a solution for this dilemma, this paper proposes the concept of "emergent action research" as a method for doing joint research with practitioners already in a change situation. This differs from the traditional use of action research where the researchers prepare an intervention and test it.