Cooperative Inquiry is a methodology developed by Peter Reason of the University of Bath (UK) and others. The method cycles through four phases of reflection and action: experiential knowing or direct encounter with a situation; presentational knowing or expression through story, drawing, sculpture, drawing and other aesthetic media; propositional knowing that draws on concepts and ideas; and, practical knowing that comes from acting in the world. In Phase 1, groups agree on a domain, triggering questions, a practice and procedures for recording experience, and a plan for gathering data. In Phase 2, they engage in agreed-upon actions, including data gathering, while in Phase 3, they immerse themselves in the experience in order to gain tacit knowledge. In Phase 4, researchers come back together to consider their domain and questions in light of their experience, a process through which they may modify, reframe, or reject or pose entirely new questions. Through this highly participatory and iterative process, according to Reason, "new skills can be acquired and monitored, experiential competencies realized. The group itself may become more cohesive and self-critical, more skilled in its work and in the practices of inquiry."

An excellent introduction to Cooperative Inquiry by Peter Reason can be found at http://www.bath.ac.uk/carpp/SPAR/Editorial Introduction.htm, a "Layperson’s Guide" is at http://www.bath.ac.uk/carpp/layguide.htm, and additional articles and tips for using this method are at http://www.bath.ac.uk/carpp/SPAR/Contents.htm. For further study, consider the Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice, by Peter Reason and Hilary Bradbury, and Co-Operative Inquiry: Research into the Human Condition, by John Heron.

Appreciative Inquiry, most commonly associated with the work of David Cooperrider at Carnegie-Mellon University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, is a form of study that seeks to "locate, highlight, and illuminate" what Cooperrider calls "life-giving forces" in an organization or community. The underlying theory of Appreciative Inquiry is that as social beings, we construct reality in our world based on what we talk about, what we envision together, and what we study. In other words, we bring forth more of whatever it is we pay attention to. If we pay attention to what is life-giving, rather than life-destroying, we will produce more of life. The process begins with identifying an affirmative topic (e.g., a healthy community) to focus the study, and then proceeds through four steps: Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny. In Discovery, an interview guide is developed to inquire into the "positive core" of the system, organization or community. In Dream, participants generate positive images of the desired future, or "what might be?" Design asks, "what should be?," and involves the transformation of systems and structures in alignment with the "positive core," and the desired future. Destiny is the "what will be" phase in which changes and continued inquiry and learning are occurring. Like Cooperative Inquiry, Appreciative Inquiry is an iterative process of inclusion, participation, learning and change.

The Appreciative Inquiry Commons’ website at http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu/ is the definitive resource for information, articles, tips and tools for using this methodology. Cooperrider and others have also written numerous books that are widely available. An Internet search will also turn up dozens of other resources.