The Road Less Traveled: A Review of Anfara and Mertz’s Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research

Abstract

Editors Anfara and Mertz travel a new road with their tidy little book, Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research. This tightly edited book begins by providing an up-close look at the process of taking a book from the germination of an idea to the delivery of the final product. As noted in the introduction, "To understand a theory is to travel into someone else’s mind." Most of the book clears the path toward that journey by presenting a sampler of chapters focusing on the use of theoretical frameworks in actual qualitative research studies. Finally, the editors bring the book full circle by summarizing the various roles theoretical frameworks played in the preceding chapters. This book provides a common basis for quantitative and qualitative researchers to continue the discussion about the role of theory in qualitative research.