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The Research Process
as Inquiry

There is small “r” research (the third step in the inquiry process), and there is big “R” research—which encompasses the whole process. Scientists, archeologists, engineers, and entrepreneurs perform this kind of research, seeking new information to add to what is known. When you perform big “R” research, you are using a form of the inquiry process:

Research Process

Inquiry Process

Question

You begin by questioning a person, place, thing, event, or idea. You settle on a guiding question, discover pointed questions, and use journalistic and Socratic questions to open up the space for information. (See page 354.)

Question

Plan

Next, you decide how you will find answers to your questions, considering primary, secondary, and tertiary sources and deciding what you will search for in person, in print, and online. (See pages 376–391.)

Plan

Research

Following your plan, you go to libraries and go online, conduct surveys and experiments, have experiences and make observations, and gather and organize your discoveries in notes, links, photos, recordings, and other media. (See pages 370–371.)

Research

Create

At a certain point, you put the pieces of your research together in a form that others can experience, whether a paper, video, speech, scale model, piece of legislation, composition, or whatever.

Create

Improve

After the initial act of creation, you need to carefully evaluate what you have made, check its effectiveness, and make sure all research is correctly reported and all sources are cited. (See pages 392–403.)

Improve

Present

At last, you are ready to present what you have found, adding your own work to that of other researchers—thinkers, writers, engineers, scientists, and artists.

Present
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