Ecological research methodology can assist the educational technologist in both his practical decision making responsibilities and in his more formal pursuit of theoretical understandings. Critics of traditional methodologies maintain that the validity of educational inquiry, as well as the generation and verification of educational theories, can be improved by employing methods that deal more adequately with the subtlety and complexity of the natural world. The term ecological inquiry is clarified through a discussion of its conceptual parallels in other disciplines, its distinguishing characteristics, and its difficulties and disadvantages. Applications of ecological inquiry to instructional development are suggested. (Author/STS)