ABSTRACT

In her acceptance speech for the NCTE Promising Researcher Award, Sondra Perl (1979b) talked about research as a process of discovery, similar to that of composing. She told of how her background and thinking had led her to a ‘felt sense’ of what she wanted to do, and how the recursive movements of the research process led to further discoveries and shaping of her investigation. She related further how she tried out various alternatives, keeping her options open, thereby allowing the process to inform her and create the conditions for significant patterns to emerge.