Action research is formative: research at Saskatchewan Hospital, 1957-61.

The author has examined the five lines of research started at a mental hospital between 1957-61 to determine their immediate effects upon practice and subsequent citations in the literature. Three lines of research combining basic and applied studies affected practice and research as measured by literature citations. One line of basic studies of perception and psychopathology influenced research but not practice. Applied studies of perception and psychopathology influenced research but not practice. Applied studies of staff organization had immediate application but disappeared from the professional literature in a short time.