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Learning from Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview Studies, by Robert S. Weiss. New York: Free Press, 1994. 246 pp. $24.95 cloth. ISBN: 0-02-934625-8.
With the broad strokes of an old master, Robert Weiss takes us back to the Renaissance days of qualitative research, to an era of formalized texts that provided "how-to's" of the research process. Drawing on over 30 years of experience with projects ranging from occupationally successful men to those diagnosed as HIV-positive, Weiss both reflects on his prior practices and uses them as a guide to direct the reader. As a text for the novice researcher, this book provides a thorough treatment of the stages of the research act. However, as a contribution to the methodology and epistemology of qualitative research, there is very little that the seasoned veteran will learn, despite a jacket cover that claims otherwise.
The book is a superb example of what has come to be known as "modernist" research, or the "second moment"...