2) Internal layout of book:

The four parts of the book are: (I) Introduction, (II) Conceptualising the research interview, (III) The seven stages of an interview investigation, (IV) Conclusion.

Part I consists of only one chapter in which the author introduces interviewing as means of research, more specifically social science research. Different approaches to research are discussed. A metaphor of a researcher as a miner who digs for nuggets of predetermined meaning represents a positivistic conception of research. Juxtaposed to this, is the image of a researcher as traveller who constructs stories while wandering together with (conversing with) interviewees.

Part II, Chapter Two, continues with the idea of knowledge as conversation by presenting different types of everyday life conversations through which people constitute themselves and their realities. By discussing excerpts from three different types of conversations, the author illustrates that a research interview is a specific form of conversational technique. A concise introduction to postmodern thought, hermeneutics, phenomenology and dialectics is provided as Chapter 3. This part of the book ends with Chapter Four entitled 'Qualitative research in Science and Practice'. Here positivism, objectivity in qualitative research, qualitative and quantitative research, qualitative market research, feminism and qualitative research, and the value of psychoanalytic knowledge production are discussed.

Part III is headed 'The Seven Stages of an Interview Investigation'. This section starts with Chapter Five entitled 'Thematising and Designing an Interview Study'. An explication of the seven stages is given and also presented visually in a box format. A discussion of 'Ethical Issues in Interview inquiries' forms Chapter Six. In Chapter Seven attention is directed to 'The interview situation'. The practical focus salient in this chapter is maintained in the following three chapters. Readers are reminded that the 'researcher as traveller' uses him/herself as the research instrument. Advice regarding structuring of the interview, types of interview questions and the relation between these questions and the initial research question/s is given. The author presents and discusses an interview excerpt from his own research to illustrate relevant issues. Interview quality is addressed in Chapter Eight. Criteria for evaluation of interviews and interviewers are found in this chapter. These are also displayed in box format. Chapter 9, 'From speech to text' deals with intricacies of transcribing. A deconstruction and reconstruction of the question 'How shall I find a method to analyse the 1000 pages of interview transcripts I have collected?' is discussed in Chapter 10. 'Methods of analysis' of interview transcripts form the basis of Chapter 11. Chapter 12 is an explanation of issues relating to 'The Plurality of Interpretations'. 'The Social Construction of Validity' is discussed in Chapter 13 and means of 'Improving interview reports' in Chapter 14.

Part IV consists only of Chapter 15, in which critiques and typical reactions to qualitative research interviews are presented and counter-argued.

3) The author:

Steinar Kvale's credibility as qualitative researcher is evident throughout the text. His expertise has resulted in an authentic and meaningful book. At the time of publication he was Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of the Centre of Qualitative Research at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and adjunct faculty at Saybrook Institute, San Francisco.

4) Coverage:

All stages of the research process are covered in a realistic way in which the 'gestalt' of the research process is preserved. For example, the author emphasises that analysis of an interview is not limited to one particular stage in the research process. Rather, analysis continues implicitly and explicitly throughout the entire research process, in which interviewees and researcher are actively involved.

Because the text focuses on essential processes in research, the text is appropriate for all humanities and social science disciplines. The author's background in psychology contributes favourably to the text. For example, mention is made that for particularly sensitive research questions, a therapist should be available to provide emotional support to participants.

The book is directed towards an international audience. However, the author's work pertaining to students' experiences of educational assessment is relevant to South African educational needs.

Metatheoretical concerns are consistently articulated throughout the text. Current debates regarding the relation between qualitative and quantitative social science research are discussed. This discussion is contextualised against the background of different conceptions of scientific objectivity. The author presents interview research as a communal activity; interViews are created through dialogue between the various views. Readers are alerted to ethical dimensions of the research process. The author identifies specific practical situations in which researchers would need to consider the ethical appropriacy of the choices they are confronted with.

5) Aims and target audience:

The author aims firstly to provide practical guidelines for new interview researchers. Secondly, he suggests conceptual frameworks and approaches to interview research, useful to both novice and experienced researchers. While there are many books which address the first aim, there is a lack of texts which address the conceptual issues integral to qualitative interview research. The author fulfils this need with competence and skill.

6) Readability of the text:

a) Writing in the first person, the author's tone is of a craftsperson sharing the intricacies of the crafting process with talented and interested apprentices. More specifically, the tone is conversational and descriptive. b) The imagery, metaphor and descriptive language ensures refreshing and enriching reading.

7) Reviewers' experience of teaching with the text:

Various chapters of the text were used with other course material for psychology honours students in 1998. In the chapter entitled 'Social construction of Validity' the author discusses the familiar notions of generalizability, reliability and validity in modern and postmodern contexts. Other metatheoretical sections from Part I and II (such as 'Objectivity in qualitative research') were used to enrich this discussion. In this way students were challenged, by the text and each other, to develop and defend their understanding of psychology as a field of scientific research.

Chapter 11, 'Methods of analysis' was, and is, particularly valuable in that participants' own reflection during the interview is acknowledged as part of the scientific research process. In addition, the possibility of understanding analysis as extending beyond interpretation, to include action is mentioned. The chapter was used for both teaching and supervision purposes. On a practical level, guidelines and illustrations were found to be valuable. On a conceptual level, the stereotype of analysis as a separate stage limited to one particular time-period in the research process was challenged.

The chapters which addresses ethical issues, and quality of interviews were also used on undergraduate level for psychology research methodology. This year (1999) the text will be utilised more effectively on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

8) Appropriate level for use of text:

In courses in which extensive attention can be focused on interviewing, the book as a whole can be used. Although the book is appropriate to any social science or humanities fields, references to Freud, and Carl Rogers make it especially attractive to those in psychological fields. The text is not difficult to understand. However, it does require that the reader has had some introduction to research methodology in general. Average competence in reading English is required.

9) Overall assessment:

a) In this text, the conceptual framework is presented in a thorough and comprehensive way, leaving no doubt that both novices and experienced researchers would be enriched and challenged. Considering that practical guidelines logically flow out of a conceptual framework, the extent to which readers grasp the different aspects of the conceptual framework presented will determine the degree of usefulness of the ensuing practical guidelines. b) The text can be said to meet goals of the broader research community in providing a qualitative textbook - in the field of psychology - which moves beyond modern into postmodern ways of conceptualising research. This is of value in terms of all social science research, but is contextualised specifically for research conducted through means of interViews.