Orientation to Inquiry in a Reflective Professional Psychology

Lisa Tsoi Hoshmand is Professor of Counseling at the California State University, Fullerton.

"Hoshmand has examined the metatheoretical foundations of psychological inquiry in an unusually thorough, balanced way, and presents her argument in a style that is at once erudite, clear, and practically useful. The statement builds on the best of the constructionist and pragmatic critiques of positivistic scientism, without abandoning the advantages that sensible critical realism and flexible empiricism offer to disciplined inquiry in professional psychology." — Donald Peterson, Rutgers University"The intellectual importance of the work rests in her creative wager as to the direction that changes in methodology will take in the future. The book will be centrally important to the way the field of methodology in the human sciences develops. Professional methodologists in several fields (psychology, sociology, education, etc.) will need to be aware of it." — George Howard, University of Notre Dame

• Preface 1. A Reflective Professional Psychology Personal Reflections on the ProfessionScience, Practice, and Professional PsychologyIssues of Method ChoicePersonal Knowing and Professional WorldviewsQuestions for Reflective StudySuggested Additional Learning2. Foundations and Issues of Psychological Inquiry Setting the Stage for an OverviewModels of Knowledge in Historical PerspectiveA Summary of Related Arguments and IssuesProfessional Inquiry in the Postmodern AgeSuggested Additional Learning3. Professional Inquiry in Context Cultural and Historical Embeddedness of Psychological Science and PracticeThe Sociopolitical Context of Professional InquiryOur Inquiry Contract with Human SubjectsSummarizing the Implications for Professional InquirySuggested Additional Learning4. Ideas, Conceptual Systems, and Core Beliefs From Concepts to Systems of IdeasThe Uses of Conceptual Tools in Professional InquiryCore Commitments and Root Metaphors in Professional PsychologyMetalevel FrameworksSuggested Additional Learning5. Paradigms of Research Understanding ParadigmsUnraveling Paradigm DebatesConventional Paradigms and Extensions of Experimental MethodologyNarrative and Hermeneutical ApproachesCritical Theory as a Paradigmatic ViewTransactional and Systemic Perspectives on ResearchOther Guiding Metaphors for Research in Professional PsychologyParadigm Choice, Methodological Pluralism, and the Evaluation of MethodologiesSuggested Additional Learning6. Methods of Inquiry ObservationInterviewingTesting and AssessmentThe Centrality of Meaning and ValueSuggested Additional Learning7. The Applied Epistemology of the Scientist-Practitioner The Nature of Conceptual DevelopmentPerceptual Inference and Judgment in Social ContextResearch on Professional ExpertiseWays of Knowing and the SelfDeveloping Reflective Qualities of Mind and Ways of BeingSuggested Additional Learning8. The Case Study as Training Ground The Case Study as an Epistemic DeviceA Reflective Orientation to Case AnalysisProblem Space and Alternative Conceptual ToolsInitial Formulations and HypothesesPosing Questions for InquiryFactors in the Choice of ProceduresData Guidance and Systematic InferenceOther Inquiry Habits Required in Case StudyTypes and Examples of Case StudySuggested Additional Learning9. Development of the Reflective Scientist-Practitioner Setting Goals for Professional DevelopmentCultivating Reflective HabitsFraming Questions of Practice for Theory and ResearchAction Research as a Model of Professional InquiryThe Importance of MentoringCreating Collaborative Learning CommunitiesSuggested Additional LearningReferences Index