Research for Change is the first book devoted to appreciative inquiry (AI) as a research method, but the book is far more than a manual in which readers search for answers to technical issues. Trained in health-care research, Reed places AI in a research context and communicates stories, specific examples, exercises, and reflections to show that AI can be used to create new knowledge and understanding. Reed's perspective and hopeful attitude convey her thoughtful evaluations of AI for serious potential, and may convince the reader of transformative possibilities inherent in AI research.
The promise of a transforming power in research is worthy of interest from leaders, managers, scholars, researchers, and collaborative learning communities, who may use AI as a "social construction in action" (p. viii). Leaders have recognized that using AI can bring collective energy to organizational development (OD); however, research applications are few. AI research may be a practical yet powerful resource to support change by assessing assumptions, testing limits, and shifting individual and collective perspectives (Donovan, Meyer, & Fitzgerald, 2007). Reed begins a dialogue with the research community and interested others to share "understanding about goals, principles, and methods" (p. 2); gain wider recognition of AI as a research method; and expand traditional research assumptions. Readers learn that AI research can lead to reflective and generative thinking by using a constructionist frame that allows participants to co-create narratives through inquiry.