Mindful Inquiry in Social Research

Rating:
Summary: original and re-direct research inquiry
Review: I can only congradulate Dr. Valerie Malhotra and her co-author for this original work which brings back the role of the researcher as a theory builder rather then just a data collector. Most importantly, the reference includes other world-views which extends beyond the Western civilization. It may be another contribution if the book inludes other civilizations as well.

Rating:
Summary: A scholarly research text written with beauty and clarity.
Review: Ph.D. candidate, Human Development, Fielding Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, March 18, 1999.

Mindful Inquiry in Social Research is a scholarly and poetic volume on how to bring mindfulness into one's work and life. Even though I have read other research texts, "I didn't know what I didn't know." However, with Valerie Bentz and Jeremy Shapiro's extraordinary and unique approach, I am for the first time, on my way to developing the research capability that I sought from my doctoral studies. Like reading a suspense novel where time seems to melt away, I lost my sense of time while immersed in the beauty and clarity of Mindful Inquiry. Bentz and Shapiro, literally come alive through their personal writing styles. The text is all at once philosophical, personal, and theoretical. It is not a minor accomplishment for a research text to read poetically. If you have scholarly interests that are directed at the discovery of the cause and the meaning of things, this book may well be the only guide (certainly a necessary one) you will need for your quest. And should you really want to kick start your own research, begin by reading the inspirational magic formulae in their concluding chapter.

Rating:
Summary: A "must" read for any researcher- Amateur or beginner!
Review: This book puts the "so what" back into research texts! It is a wonderful, thoughtful, realistic and provocative description of how research is not only a technique but an approach to life. I used many of the excellent suggestions to explore my own thoughts and to develop new insights into research methodologies and philosophies. I can't remember the last scholarly book I sat down and read for an entire weekend cover to cover!