BOOK REVIEWS 165

Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (2nd ed.), by Joseph A.

Maxwell (Applied Social Research Methods Series, Volume 41). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage, 2005. 175 pp., $29.95 (paperback), $59.95 (hardcover).
DOI: 10.1177/0741713605283436

Novice researchers and professors seeking a graduate research text will find the user-
friendly, interactive approaches prescribed in Joseph Maxwell's second edition to provide
insight—and tnaybe some revelations—to qualitative research design. LIsing sage advice
and specific examples directly from his research methods courses and actual dissertation
proposals, the author provides an easy-to-read guide to many of the design issues that often
seem vague, mysterious, and daunting to novices when planning qualitative studies. This
book is based on the premise that students struggle more with the design of the study than the
dissertation proposal. Maxwell believes that when the research design is solid, writing a pro-
posal is not such a difficult task; therefore, the text focuses more on research design than on
proposal writing.
Maxwell rebels against linear research design models and promotes an interactive model
that he likens to a "rubber band" because design components need to stretch and bend, exert-
ing tension in different parts of the design (p. 6). These elastic components are the book
chapters addressing critical design questions: (1) "Goals: Why are you doing this study?" (2)
"Conceptual Framework: What do you think is going on?" (3) "Research Questions: What
do you want to understand?" (4) "Methods: What will you actually do?" and (5) "Validity:
How might you be wrong?" Notably missing in these five components are ethical concerns;
however. Maxwell believes that "ethical concerns should be involved in every aspect of
design" and addresses these in each design component (p. 7).
The final chapter discusses how to make the transition from designing to proposing a dis-
sertation study. A step-by-step guide to creating a proposal is presented that "creates a clear
argument for your study" while pointing to a graduate student's example that incorporates
the ideas discussed in each chapter (p. 119). Readers will learn more by using this book as a
guide while developing their qualitative study. With a research topic in mind, students can
complete the hands-on exercises: write identity memos, create concept maps of a study, try
thought experiments, reflect on research relationships, develop a questions-and-methods
matrix, identify validity threats, and develop proposal arguments.
More examples and exercises are included in the second edition of the book. The new text
clarifies terminology from the first edition and includes more discussion of paradigms, per-
sonal goals, research problems, research relationships, site and participant selection, data
analysis, and validity. In the second edition. Maxwell is more explicit about how the realistic
philosophical perspective shapes the model of qualitative research design that informs his
research and this book. Maxwell points out consequences of the realist perspective for quali-
tative design—most prevalent in developing interview questions. In Maxwell's view, the
realistic perspective, in contrast to instrumental approaches, does not restrict research ques-
tions to what can be directly observed and allows the researcher to explore perceptions or
beliefs of what happened.
The second edition also shares more personal stories of how students struggled with
research design issues. It is rare to find a book that shares students' learning processes while
designing research. It is also rare to find an exemplar dissertation proposal like the one
included in this book. Although very instructive, the same research proposal example was
166 ADULT EDUCATION QUARTERLY / Eebruary 2006

presented both in the first and second editions. Another proposal example would have been a
welcome addition—especially because the author stated in both editions that he would have
liked to include more proposal examples if he had had space.
In addition, I would like to have read more about how cultural and ethnic issues can affect
a research study. The author discussed how philosophical, ethical, and political issues should
inform the relationships a researcher wants to establish, but issues of gender, race, and cul-
ture were noticeably missing. A few of the personal reflections touched on diversity issues,
and the author did note that there are "some cultures, settings, and relationships in which it is
not appropriate or productive to conduct interviews" (p. 93). The issue of how diversity
issues can affect research design deserved more attention.
Maxwell delivers on his promise to present "an approach to qualitative research design
that both captures what qualitative researchers really do, and provides support and guidance
for those embarking for the first time on designing a qualitative study" (p. xi). Although
Maxwell provides advice on every aspect of the design process, this short book does not pro-
vide all the answers. For example, the author notes that the book focus "is on how to design
the use of specific methods in qualitative study, not how to actually do qualitative research"
(p. 79). Instead, the author points to additional resources and offers a fresh perspective on the
interactive nature of research design. He creatively uses folktales, movie plots, real-life
examples, and the personal stories of graduate students to bring out his and the students' pas-
sions for qualitative research.

KAREN SKIBBA
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook (2nd ed.), by David

Silverman. London: Sage, 2005. 395 pp., $39.95 (paperback).
DOI: 10.1177/0741713605283440

Intended as a "basic primer for PhD students" (p. xiv), the changes in this edition allow
the book to be used throughout a doctoral program in order to expand the continuum of users.
The author's viewpoint is that there are no "recipes" (p. xv) for research, and there is no sin-
gle way to approach it. Positioned as a guide, each chapter opens with objectives and con-
cludes with key points, allowing students to use the book in multiple ways.
Weaving the previous edition in between the changes and additions, the book proposes to
meet "the needs of the range of students from different disciplines" (p. xiv). Advice on using
the book, how to choose qualitative research, and examples of the research process of Ph.D.
students are intended for novice researchers. Those beyond the decision phase of choosing a
research method will benefit from updates in "computer-assisted analysis of qualitative
data" (p. 189), evaluation of qualitative research, and supervisor-doctoral student expecta-
tions. The remaining content takes students through to publication of the research and find-
ing a job.
Silverman proves that persistence pays off. Doctoral students with inquisitive minds
relentlessly hound professors for answers to questions that are now housed in the additions to
this book. Learning from someone else, rather than painful, personal experience, is the pref-
erence of most doctoral students, including myself. So, my heart skipped a beat when I