Qualitative Research in IS: Issues and Trends

Citation

Yoong, P. (2002), "Qualitative Research in IS: Issues and Trends", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 159-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.2.159.6

This book attempts to meet the demand for in‐depth discussion of the various types of qualitative IS methods so that researchers can determine the most appropriate one for addressing their particular research problems. The intended target audiences are information systems students and academics.

The book begins with a preface by the editor followed by 11 chapters organized around the following three themes: Trends in the choice of qualitative methods; Issues for the IS researchers; and Issues for the IS profession.

The first chapter by Eileen Trauth sets the stage for the book by discussing factors that may assist IS researchers in the selection of appropriate qualitative methods for their research. The second chapter, by Eleanor Wynn, begins with an historical account of the development of qualitative methods in IS literature and ends with a description of future trends. Five chapters are included to illustrate the second theme. The authors, Enid Mumford, Ulrike Schultze, Cathy Urquhart, Dubravka Cecez‐Kecmanovic and Steve Sawyer, provide their personal experiences of using specific qualitative methods in particular projects. Illustrations of issues associated with each qualitative method are provided and these give the readers a better understanding of what to expect when considering the application of each method. The final theme focuses on the “issues associated with the choice of qualitative methods at the level of the IS profession.” The first chapter in this last section by Richard Baskerville discusses the application of action research and its associated risks and rewards. The next chapter, by Heinz Klein and Michael Myers, provides a classification scheme for interpretive research and suggests five categories for this type of research method. The last chapter, by Allen Lee, challenges qualitative IS researchers to examine themselves and to practice what we preach.

As a qualitative IS researcher and teacher, I found this book timely and relevant. The book reminded me of the philosophical underpinning of qualitative methods and the “wisdom” provided by the authors increased my understanding of these methods. The concrete and practical examples of the issues associated with different qualitative methods are relevant and useful. I also found the references in each chapter very helpful and they will be a useful resource for my next series of workshops on qualitative methods. I recommend this book to teachers, researchers and students interested in qualitative research and it will be recommended reading for my masters and doctoral students in information systems.