Inquiry is seeking answers to questions, investigating issues, and gather- ing information to help us draw conclusions. It enables us to get beyond our first impressions, feelings, preconceived notions, and personal preferences.
There are two basic kinds of inquiry: inquiry into facts and inquiry into opinions. Opinions, remember, can be informed or uninformed. Except in cases where the purpose of our inquiry demands that both varieties of opinion be gathered, we should be more interested in informed opinion. Often we will need to inquire into both facts and opinions
However resistant to resolution a question may be, though, inquiry is still useful. Even if it yields no more than the untestable opinions of experts, those opinions are more valuable than the casual speculations of the uninformed. So we shouldn’t be intimidated by difficult issues. We should merely be realistic about how complete and final our answers are likely to be.
Keeping Focused
Even books needn’t be waded through page by page to find something useful. In mere seconds you can turn to the index (usually at the end) and look for the several headings your issue might be found under; then turn to the appropriate pages and read only those pages. If the book has no index, you can turn to the table of contents, read the chapter titles, decide which chapters seem most relevant, and then scan them
Efficiency can be more difficult to achieve in Internet searches because distractions often are more frequent and tempting. Make a special effort to discipline your Internet searches, focusing your attention on relevant material only and resisting the temptation to wander
Managing Lengthy Material
- After reading the article or book, go back and identify the key assertions.
- Identify the author’s conclusion
- Notice any qualifying words used in the key assertions or the conclusion
- Note the amount, kinds, and sources of evidence used to support the assertions.
- Notice the conditions the author includes