Methods of Inquiry

Methods of Inquiry refers to the procedures with or without pedagogical adaptation which are mostly used by specialists in a field of knowledge for comprehensive study of the subject like history, zoology, linguistics, rhetoric and so on.

 The main purpose of applying methods of inquiry in simple terms is like understanding the nature of the knowledge source on one’s own effort instead of relying on pedagogical tutor or syllabus references which are sometimes not as extensive we might want it to be.

Applying different methods to adapt the subject knowledge lasts for years to come and would be easier to grasp new concepts on the same topic. Subjects like linguistic and history has made way for unique methods for investigating distinctive kinds of problems and objects. We can describe it as one of the type of method as investigative method which is the significant form of methods of inquiry.

While tutoring students’ right from the stages of schools to colleges, the concept of investigative study is not briefly explained but more subtly applied by different methods. They are learning the presuppositions of the field, finding answers to questions relevant to a given area of inquiry, understanding relevant concepts, naming the concepts with terminologies, finding solutions to problems based on the accepted set of procedures and working within the set boundaries besides crossing obstacles imposed by the field of study.

Method of inquiry stands synonymous with terms like ‘appropriate inquiry’ and ‘relevant inquiry’ which are questions that are imposed with a view to know the nuances of the subject with maximum relevancy so that the answers given will be within the set procedures and boundaries.

 In contemporary times, the way of methods of inquiry is being applied constantly on almost all fields of study for three main conceptualized reasons that been proved positive in practical application. They are investigative method visibly increases one’s interest in the subject when they research on particular fields by own effort. Next is that the one who is learning will be allowed to make use of the best of his knowledge to grasp the subject and comprehend clearly besides allowing a strong base for the subject which could be later used for higher, research studies if they wish to.

Methods of inquiry are basically designed to cope up with the ever changing concept of the education field where syllabus are not of the primary concern but emphasizing the in depth study which would provide the right knowledge for application on wider scale.

Questions:

• Can a student apply methods of inquiry on varied field of studies?
• What are the major advantages of inquiry methods?