Book Review
Successful Qualitative Health Research: A Practical Introduction
Emily Hansen
ISBN: 978-0-335220-34-2; 2006; 240 pages; Open University Press;
Kay Price
Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia, Adelaide SA
While reading this book I was taken on a whirlwind tour of qualitative research: given only a taste of the enormity of information but then asked to move on quickly. The book's title says it is a practical introduction aimed at 'the ever-growing numbers of researchers in health who require a user-friendly book containing practical and theoretical advice about conducting qualitative research.' The author provides an overview of qualitative research for a quick read. For me, the brevity often leads to oversimplification of important matters surrounding the design, conduct and evaluation of determining if your qualitative research will be, or is, successful.
Hansen works as a research fellow in the Discipline of General Practice, and by her own acknowledgement received salary support from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing via the Primary Healthcare Research Evaluation and Development Strategy to write this book. I agree with Hansen when she notes that qualitative researchers must 'be aware of the theoretical underpinnings of the various methods they want to use', and that 'the need to understand and use theory poses considerable challenges for qualitative researchers without adequate training... '.
Knowing that there are competing definitions and contested and contradictory approaches to research whether it is named qualitative or quantitative, for me it is important to make clear what way of thinking is influencing what I am attempting to achieve in doing any specific research project or writing a book on qualitative research. I am concerned that some may read this book and think they understand all there is to know about what constitutes a successful qualitative research project. I am surprised by the use of many 'old' references, with a particular reliance on an introductory textbook on qualitative health research by Grbich (1999). In some instances, up-to-date sources reflecting contemporary debate around qualitative research are not used. However, Hansen has successfully put a lot of information into one small read.
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