Qualitative Research for the Information Professional: A Practical Handbook (2nd ed.)

Citation

Chowdhury, G. (2006), "Qualitative Research for the Information Professional: A Practical Handbook (2nd ed.)", Online Information Review, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 599-600. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520610706497

Due to its unique content, presentation style and quality, the first edition of Qualitative Research for Information Professionals has been a well‐read and widely‐cited book; it also, in the words of the authors of the second edition, was “a commercial success”. The second revised edition has updated the existing chapters, thoroughly revised some chapters, and added some new ones. Two new chapters in the second edition are: Chapter 2: Evaluating Qualitative Research, and Chapter 14: Human Resources in Knowledge Management: A Case Study.

The book has 14 chapters; and while each chapter has a list of references, there is an annotated bibliography at the end of the book. The bibliography is divided in three sections: materials supporting the theoretical contributions; items that discuss specific aspects of qualitative research such as case studies, focus group studies, interviews, etc.; and practical examples of qualitative research. The book ends with an alphabetical subject index.

The nature and characteristics of qualitative research are discussed in the first chapter, and Chapter 2 discusses the various parameters used for evaluating qualitative research – both past work and one's own qualitative research. Chapter 3 discusses qualitative research design, and introduces various investigative methods used in qualitative research; viz., observation, interviewing, group discussion and historical study. Details of various qualitative research methods are discussed in the subsequent chapters. Chapter 5 discusses the case study approach, and the next two chapters describe the approaches to fieldwork – the foundations of fieldwork studies and its various stages. Three methods for gathering data in fieldwork (observation, interviewing and group discussion techniques) are discussed in Chapters 7‐9, and Chapter 10 discusses historical investigation as a method of qualitative research for information professionals. In the first edition Chapter 10 was written by Professor Lyn Gorman, which in this edition has been completely revised and re‐written by Dr Sydney Shep. The next three chapters focus on the recording, analysis and reporting of qualitative research. The final chapter of the book presents a case study that reports on a qualitative research in an information setting – a study of human resource policies in a knowledge management firm.

All the chapters in the book are not only well‐written, they also are well integrated and the reader is taken from one aspect of qualitative research discussed in one chapter to the next topic discussed in the following chapter. Each chapter begins with a set of review questions and ends with a set of questions that lead to the following chapter. A number of scenarios have been used to illustrate the theme and the topics discussed in the chapters. The book is intended for the information professionals – students as well as practitioners – and aims to provide a practical guide to qualitative research in an information environment. The second edition has definitely succeeded in reaching its objective, and this book should be read by every information professional who has any interests in information science research.