Inquiry

The ability to identify, formulate, and communicate questions that guide investigation and reflection toward discovery; the ability to critically and thoroughly examine one's own assumptions and the assumptions of others.

Inquiry takes form in compelling questions that drive our creativity, test our own assumptions, and push us to engage with authentic problems and thorny issues. Successful practice of Inquiry starts with developing lines of questioning and being open to where the research leads, which could refine or redirect the questions, or lead to entirely new questions. Examining assumptions - in the questions, in the evidence found, and in oneself - can open up new pathways for exploration and ground the results in the larger context of knowledge production. Acquiring more information is its immediate result, but the capacity to inquire well is the key to a life full of discovery, meaning-making, and purpose.

Guiding Questions

  • What ideas, issues, or contexts ignite my curiosity?
  • What is my process for developing new lines of questioning?
  • Which questions can’t be definitively answered?
  • How does the question I ask impact the information I discover?
  • What unexpected pathways or new questions have turned up in my research process?
  • How does the evidence I have gathered support my possible answers?
  • How are my questions shaped by my assumptions and different contexts?
  • What are the different biases and perspectives in the evidence I have found?