Book Review:
Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts.

Reviewer: Martin Wolske, Senior Research Scientist and Adjunct Faculty, Center for Digital Inclusion, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, United States.

Williamson, K. & Johanson, G. (Eds.) (2013) Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts. Prahran, Victoria: Tilde Publishing and Distribution.

For many of us, myself included, it is likely that after a quick glance noting research methods as the focus of the book being reviewed, we are ready to move on to articles we consider more germane. We either feel comfortable with the research methods we already incorporate into our Community Informatics field of study, or we practice Community Informatics as a method within our broader community activities and do not consider research a part of our responsibilities. Regardless of the reason, I ask that you stay with me for a moment to consider why Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts is an important resource for all of us.

First, a brief diversion to consider why evaluation research is important for professionals and academicians alike. I continue to value Randy Stoecker's Research Methods for Community Change, which has become a foundation for my Community Informatics Studio course (Wolske, Rhinesmith, & Kumar, in press). Written for both the academician and the community leader, it helpfully clarifies that we are all part of communities in change, and that we regularly use research, whether formally or informally, to effectively guide that change. However, we don't always include a structured evaluation component in our practice, something Stoecker emphasizes is an important part of completing the project cycle of diagnosis, prescription, implementation, and evaluation. For it is in the formal evaluation that we effectively reflect and set up a new cycle of improved diagnosis, prescription, and implementation. Furthermore, the formal evaluation is a critical part of informing stakeholders regarding the work at hand.

While Stoecker's book includes some discussion of evaluation methods, I find Williamson and Johanson's Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts extraordinarily helpful in considering which evaluation methods and techniques are most appropriate within different contexts. Written for the information sciences, I believe it is accessible not only for those in formal roles as academic researchers, but for many others, too. Furthermore, as someone who is formally trained in the physical sciences, I find it to be a valuable introduction to issues unique to social science research. In particular, Section I provides a useful consideration of the foundations and framing of social science research. Chapters one and five in this section provide insights into the meta-theoretical assumptions which can inform our strategies for conducting research. Our beliefs regarding the nature and existence of social reality (ontology), the nature of knowledge and ways of knowing (epistemology), the logic of scientific explanation, and the ethics of what ought to be are each of central importance in grounding the research paradigms from which we work. These chapters specifically consider the positivist, interpretive, and critical approach paradigms. Chapters three and four go on to consider specific patterns and practices within information research and archival and record keeping research, respectively. Both chapters highlight some of the current research issues. The chapter on information research further calls attention to the importance of research as part of professional practice; for instance, to assist in understanding the problems and issues that arise in the workplace, and to meet requirements of accountability (page 62). The chapter on archival and record keeping research is especially adept at highlighting the importance of conscious consideration of methodology to inform our choice of methods and techniques.

Proceeding on from this consideration of methodology and meta-theory, section II, the methods section of Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts, includes chapters on survey design, case study research, action research, constructivist grounded theory, bibliometric research, design-science research, researching history, ethnographic research, and experimental research. Section III then considers research techniques, addressing populations and samples, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups, observation, quantitative data analysis, and qualitative data analysis. In both sections, methods and techniques are considered from the positivist, interpretive, and critical approach research paradigms. Unfortunately, but perhaps understandably, other emerging paradigms such as the postmodern, feminist, and socio-material paradigms are noted but not explored within the book, with the author citing space limitations as the reason for this. Examples are used throughout, and many chapters include boxed highlights of a teaching case study.

Section IV concludes Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts with considerations of ethical research practices, managing research data, and research writing and dissemination. Unfortunately, the research writing and dissemination chapter does not consider the unique issues of publication and presentation that sometimes arise as part of deep engagement. For instance, the chapter touches on ownership and the need for honesty and integrity, but does not delve more deeply into shared ownership, fair representation, and the power that can arise from research that is collaborative, community-centric, and engages with vulnerable populations; emerging trends that are briefly introduced earlier in the book (for instance, see pages 89-90). Still, the section overall is a very helpful introduction to the ethical practice and communication of research.

Some of us employ Community Informatics as a field of practice, using it as an approach to inform the development of community information systems and networks to meet community development goals, advance social capital, and empower individuals (Stoecker, 2005). Many in this cohort are professionals from outside of academia whose positions do not include a formal research role. Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts will be a valuable resource for this group, helping to advance formal evaluation as a component within the research cycle of the community change project, improving diagnosis, prescription, and implementation, and serving to better inform and provide accountability to stakeholders regarding such projects and their outcomes. Others of us are in formal research roles and identify with the discipline of Community Informatics as a field of study, which some consider to be underdeveloped, in part because of a lack of an agreed-upon set of methodological techniques and practices (Stoecker, 2005). Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts is an important work advancing dialog on methodology and methods through exploration within the related, broader field of information science research. At 556 pages, the book is a comprehensive, broad introduction to the issues of evaluation and, through the included teaching case studies and bibliography, is an excellent starting point for more advanced explorations into research methods for both the professional and academician alike.

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