Inquiry-based learning is a general term used to describe pedagogical approaches characterised by being student-centred (rather than focused on direct transmission of content), starting from relatively open questions, problems or challenges, which require solutions through a research process—often collaborative.

Just like learning situations, an SRP clearly fits within the definition of inquiry-based learning, but it has both a more specific and a more general dimension. Specific, because it provides elements to describe the inquiry process that emerges within a learning situation, and therefore offers tools to manage it. General, because an SRP can be used to describe any inquiry process—whether in school or in fields such as scientific research, journalism, law, policing, etc. Even the small inquiries we carry out spontaneously—like when there’s a water leak at home or when we visit a new address for the first time—can be understood as SRPs. As can broader research processes, such as a doctoral thesis or a multi-year research project developed by a team.