The Research Journey: Introduction to Inquiry

by Sharon F. Rallis, Gretchen B. Rossman, Thomas A. Schwandt (Foreword)

Designed to foster "inquiry-mindedness," this book prepares graduate students to develop a conceptual framework and conduct inquiry projects that are linked to ongoing conversations in a field. The authors examine different ways of knowing and show how to identify a research question; build arguments and support them with evidence; make informed design decisions; engage in reflective, ethical practices; and produce a written proposal or report. Each chapter opens with a set of critical questions, followed by a dialogue among five fictional graduate students exploring questions and concerns about their own inquiry projects; these issues are revisited throughout the chapter. Other useful features include end-of-chapter learning activities for individual or group use.
Useful pedagogical features

*Framing questions for exploration and reflection.

*Chapter-opening dialogues that bring in perspectives from multiple disciplines.

*Example boxes with detailed cases and questions for the reader.

*End-of-chapter activities and experiential exercises that guide readers to develop their own inquiry projects.

*Suggestions for further reading.

190 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2012

Reviews

[Erik Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a graduate research design class. I’ve been out of school for 20 years, so I appreciated how conversational and approachable the writing was. They still covered a lot of theory, but it didn’t read like a textbook.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - really useful for framing inquiry and research as open, exploratory processes.