A Review by Bob Sexton

 

EVALUATION OF `ENQUIRE WITHIN'

'Enquire Within' is a PCP software programme designed by John Mayes and Valerie Stewart (of Stewart and Stewart fame) and effectively fills the gap for IBM compatibles which Mildred Shaw declined to do with RepGrid2. It is very similar in many respects but in my estimation is easier to use and has much more versatility at the elicitation stages, ensuring that the most relevant constructs and elements are obtained. It is, however, more limited when it comes to analysis.

Cost

Varies dependent on the version you buy The cheapest, and therefore the most rudimentary, is about £400-450 ($700 US), whilst the most expensive version is about £3,000 ($4,000 US).

Ease of Use

The tutorial is very instructive and if printed out can be used as an easy tool for learning how to operate the programme. In addition A also contains some principles for analysis and some good suggestions as to how repertory grid can be used, with examples. It also has a very basic précis of Kelly's theory. It has quite extensive sections on how to use the grid in various different environments, such as in the clinical environment.

The tutorial runs through the programme in easy stages and by the end of it I had a good impression of how it works. When I tried to create my own grid I found that the tutorial had given me sufficient information to operate the programme with little need to refer back. This was helped by the on-screen prompts and assistance which the programme provides.

How the programme works

The programme starts by asking you to identify the purpose of the grid, and this is useful because you are able to continually refer back to it to remind the participant of the focus. It also asks you to include qualifying statements and these are helpful when you are later trying to elicit constructs as they give alternative ways of looking at the same issue.

The sequences you go through are logical and easy to administer. Eliciting constructs is made easy because of the way the programme has been written and it provides several ways of ensuring that you obtain the most relevant material. In particular it has excellent processes for laddering and for differentiating between constructs, giving you the opportunity to merge similar constructs and create more accurate alternatives. However, if you were undertaking the process with someone it could become rather intensive if you used all the options available, but that is your choice and they do not have to be employed.

It uses the triadic process and provides random selections of elements. These are produced as two similar and one different but each set can be changed around and an unlimited number of constructs elicited from each set. I gain the impression that by using this process and the opportunity to include the various qualifying statements you could end up with a long list of constructs, many of which would be similar.

The programme seems to have been geared to working with a client or participant and recording their responses directly on to the programme. If you wished to input data from a previously conducted interview then placing the data on to the programme is confounding due to the need to keep working through the possible options of triads. However, in the computer age any researcher using this programme would be well advised to use a lap-top so that all of the programme's facilities can be fully employed.

Another drawback is the manner in which the questions that prompt elicitation are drafted. They tend to result in the answers being either plural or singular and this can be confusing when you come to rating and analysis later, although once you've identified this problem it is easy enough to ensure that you put down appropriate responses. Rating is simple enough, although it is necessary to keep referring back to the two poles of the construct and I feel it could have been designed a bit differently for greater ease of use.

One good feature is the ease with which it is possible to introduce additional elements or constructs at any stage of the process, even once the grid has been formulated, and it is noticeable how much the tree changes once such adjustments have been included.

Analysis

Analysis seems to be a little limited. It provides you with a tree for each grid, similar to the Focus grid, but little else, although as I said there are excellent processes which allow you to make adjustments and this helps to create a more refined grid. The identification of elements and constructs is done through a numbering system, which initially is confusing as it seems to be part of the rating scores. In order to determine the element or construct to which the number refers you have to open a separate window which lists the elements/constructs against the numbers used on the tree. Whilst the one for the elements is clear and concise the constructs window takes up too much of the screen and makes it difficult to read in association with the tree. The windows also do not move when you scroll and consequently you lose the ability to relate the numbers to the constructs or elements if you don’t move the window first.

There also appears to be no facility for creating such things as Sociogrids and PrinCom which are a feature of the RepGrid2 programme. This is unfortunate if you are wishing to make comparisons between different grids or to map the differentiations between either constructs or elements in a graphical format. RepGrid provided long lists detailing all the calculations and this again gave you an opportunity to undertake detailed manual analysis, but this feature also seems not to be available. In essence you are restricted to the use of the tree, although it is more flexible than RepGrid2.

General Impression

Overall it is quick and easy to use, has good help facilities, especially the tutorial and is extremely flexible. I would say it is more likely to closely reflect the values and attitudes of the participant than previous programmes I have seen and if you don’t require the extra dimensions for analysis then is ideal - just what we have needed for some time and a more than adequate alternative to RepGrid2. Well recommended.

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Comment from John Mayes:

We are very pleased that Bob Sexton has picked up well on our basic design philosophy which was to facilitate to the maximum extent possible the elicitation rather than the analysis of constructs. Even the analysis process is designed to facilitate the addition of constructs and elements.

Enquire Within is under constant development both proactively and in response to user comments. For instance we now provide for output of ratings to a comma delimited matrix for use in statistical analysis software.

Since the review was written Enquire Within has been completely rewritten to improve performance and presentation and there is only one version which incorporates all previous options offered now priced at US$49.

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Tutorials

Download a series of free standing repertory grid interview tutorials, introducing the use of the grid interview in various applications such as counselling, decision making and organizational development, here.

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