Abstract
Research Methods for Studying Groups and Teams: A Guide to Approaches, Tools, and Technologies, edited by Andrea B. Hollingshead and Marshall Scott Poole, is intended as a companion book to their earlier volume, Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2005). As such, the current book focuses on the technical side of research on small groups and teams—choice of methods, do’s and don’ts from the field, software packages, and other practical questions—rather than the theoretical or substantive motivation for doing research. In fact, the editors quite explicitly state that they are not trying to convince the reader to conduct research on groups, nor are they telling scholars what topics are currently important or significant. Rather, the intent is to provide readers who are already convinced of the worth of research on groups, the tools they need to conduct it, or perhaps to conduct it more effectively. Chapters are meant to be presented chronologically through the research process rather than by type of method (e.g., experiments). As stated in the introduction, “The chapters of this volume are ordered chronologically to parallel the way in which a typical group research project unfolds.” I found this idea intriguing, although it was not entirely clear to me that the chapters did follow that schema. For instance, the chapter on recruiting comes more than halfway through the volume.
Overall, the range of chapters is inclusive of a variety of methods and they cover a wide range of important research questions. In fact, the breadth of types of groups-related methods discussed is noticeable and admirable, for example, field studies, ethnographies, experiments, virtual settings of several stripes, narrative analysis, process analysis, network approaches. Coding and analysis of data are well covered also. An inclusive definition of what constitutes a group is also used, lending itself to this variety of methodological perspectives. A particular strength of this volume is the personal nature of so many of the essays. Researchers bring their own experiences—both good and not so good—forth to the aid of the reader.
As with any edited volume, the chapters, or essays, included within this book are of variable quality. Notable for their high level of interest and readability for me were the chapters on virtual games as an environment for studying groups (Wirth, Feldberg, Schouten, van der Hooff, & Williams, Chapter 10) and on measuring dynamics “in the wild” (Rosen, Wildman, Salas, & Rayne, Chapter 19). Both chapters are extremely well written and use numerous examples from research projects at various stages of completion. Those two chapters reflected the real variety of experience in actually doing research. Others were considerably more technical and focused, dealing with issues like multilevel dynamics or computer simulations. In all, the variety of selections likely means that most readers will find chapters of interest in terms of writing style and content.
The selections are broad, as noted above, in terms of content. They are less so in terms of disciplinary background. The editors, both professors of communication, have no requirement to produce an interdisciplinary book. However, this volume claims to be one. The contributors of chapters appear to be primarily from departments of communication and psychology. I noted a few authors who work in management. None of the authors of the chapters, and very few of those cited, however, work in sociology, economics, or political science.
Overall, this is an excellent contribution to the field. A truly inclusive book would be too long to read. But the selections included here are credible, practical, worthwhile, and useful, especially for beginning researchers. While one might quibble with the some of the choices, the overall spirit and execution of this volume make it valuable.