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Rating: 
Summary: For Breaking Plaster
Review: I have been teaching social science research methods since 1978. As a result, I believe I have reviewed most of the textbooks in the area. As a result, I feel I can make a couple of remarks regarding the work of DePoy and Gitlin.First and foremost, this is a textbook. It was specifically designed for students in allied health professional studies and human service curricula. Compared to most textbooks, it is NOT dry writing. Clearly, the authors have a flare for words. Second, the primary strength of this text is its evenhandedness. More so than any other text, DePoy and Gitlin address both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies. No text completes this task as effectively and as efficiently. When Ph.D. students (within my doctoral cohort) were being educated, they shared an unsavory learning experience. Most of us were taught to become number crunchers. The value of qualitative research was downplayed. In some cases we were specifically taught that qualitative research methodologies were hampering the image and progress of the social sciences. Thus, qualitative techniques were portrayed as a strategy employed by professors to engage the interest of undergraduate students. Qualitative methods were often adopted as a "play time." The possible exception for my observation is anthropology. However, even doctoral educators in anthropology noted the value of number crunching. DePoy and Gitlin offer a doorway to turn our thinking around. They contend that the research question must drive the research method - not the other way around. During my education (Baccalaureate, Masters, and Ph.D.), I was taught to design research questions that could be answered by employing regression analysis or a variation of it. DePoy and Gitlin do more to legitimize qualitative methodologies than any current authors. They accomplish this task by systematically examining a wide range of methods by demonstrating the value of each. I see two problems. First, the authors have embarked on a Herculean task. They skim the surface of the various methodologies, but offer little depth. In the end, students will not have an adequate knowledge base to employ any single research method without some additional educational support. Perhaps such educational support is a role for the research professor. Thus, the lack of depth may be a blessing in disguised. Second, few of my students (3 to 25%) will enroll in graduate school. Thus, it is highly unlikely that they will be actively involved in a substantive research project. These students need to employ research methodologies to improve their job performance and gain insight into self-evaluation. This is a flaw in the work of DePoy and Gitlin. The authors do not directly address self-evaluation. In the end, I believe that DePoy and Gitlin offers the best preparation for graduate school. Nothing comes closer. I highly recommend this book.
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