Inquiry Model

The Inquiry Model is used by researchers to investigate an issue and come to a conclusion about what should be done. There are 8 steps to the Model which are outlined below.

1) Focus and Identify - this step involves defining the issue or problem, researching for background knowledge and deciding what should receive priority

2) Organize - develop a sequence of steps for investigating the issue and propose a thesis ( a proposition to be proved)

3) Locate - search for, browse for and select relevant sources of information

4) Record - make notes of useful information, fully document those sources for bibliographic purposes and assemble the bibliography

5) Synthesize and Evaluate - evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the data collected, look for relationships among the data, selectively discard any material which is now inappropriate, evaluate the information you have collected to determine what more, if any, information is required, compare this information to your thesis and revise it if necessary, and propose a solution to the issue/problem

6) Conclude - draw conclusions from all the data collected, determine if there are questions still unresolved, and re-evaluate the solution proposed in step 5

7) Apply - make predictions or generalizations, and determine whether the solutions/conclusions can apply to other situations

8) Communicate - communicate the results of the research in the most effective way, remembering to use maps, graphs, photographs, charts, sketches, diagrams, and models where appropriate to support your point of view