Post Two: Research encouraged

Occasionally I receive a request for assistance from someone interested in using the InQ Inquiry Mode Questionnaire for research. Often the person is a graduate student who wants to do a study leading to a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree, or a consultant interested in gathering data for appealing to a certain client constituency.

Usually their research questions are "occupational-norm" related: Do people who perform a particular role display a thinking profile that is unique to that role? And, if so, do changes in that role affect their subsequent styles of thinking?

We are delighted to encourage them. We can provide the following assistance: Price discounts on however many instruments they need for their study; a copy of our bibliography; a reprint of the original validity and reliability studies that were done; referring them to research-minded colleagues, where appropriate; and possibly using this Blog to see if there are readers who might want to comment.

What we would like to have in return is a copy of their research proposal and a copy of their dissertation when it is completed, for our files.

Please feel free to contact me. Thank you.

Paul

First Post

What I find intriguing about the InQ is its cognitive orientation, in that it assesses one's styles of thinking rather than one's affective orientations, such as attitudes, motivations, and behaviors.

This from a behavioral scientist who has devoted much of his career to the processes of human endeavor, such as interpersonal relations, training, group discussion-decision, participatory planning, conflict management, organizational performance, and interagency collaboration.

I am very much interested in how people think and how thinking styles affect behaviors. This much is known: there are five basic styles, SYNTHESIST, IDEALIST, PRAGMATIST, ANALYST, and REALIST. The instrument for measuring these -- the Inquiry Mode Questionnaire -- has been tested and proven for reliability and validity, so is ideally suited for research purposes. From time to time, I will review research findings for you.

Thank you for visiting. This is the first of many postings to come.