Brief Description:
Appreciative inquiry (AI) can be used in conjunction with many other methods. Using AI means that research questions are framed to inspire positive and future-focused responses.
For more on appreciative inquiry and appreciative inquiry question design you can jump ahead to Chapter 3: Collecting data – Appreciative Inquiry.
Strengths:
- Good for program development and evaluation.
- Encourages participants to focus on the positive, so avoids the group research becoming an opportunity to air grievances.
- Facilitates the collection of very rich data.
Challenges:
- Some participants may dominate the conversation.
- Transcription and analysis may be difficult/time consuming.
Tips From the Professor: AI is always used in conjunction with other methods, it does not stand alone, but is a method of data collection design that can be used with interviews, focus groups, indigenous methodologies and even in survey design!