How calls for research can awaken self-reflexivity and latent interests in scholarly inquiry

Abstract

While we may think that we are well-aware of our scholarly interests, “calls for research” can provide the spark that can transform latent and largely unconscious interests into written accounts. This account describes how “calls” can incite us to explore phenomena that, while there may have been no conscious prior interest, serve to incite creative interest. Psychological perspectives are integrated with autoethnograhic experience with “calls” in order to explore how these calls can spark creative responses. Suggestions for improving calls revolve around understanding to a greater extent the dynamic relationship among calls, creative inquiry, and subsequent transformation into written accounts.