Book Review: Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford. 366 pp., $40.50 paperback, ISBN 978-1-57230-690-5

logical/theoretical conversation throughout the book, which is even more unusual for a methods volume. Her clearly stated position is that discerning and using theory is important throughout the qualitative research process: ‘‘As with the many contested issues in qualitative research, one’s position depends in large part on one’s epistemological stance’’ (p. 168). The first chapter also raises questions about the nature of evidence, the methods used to determine the existence of ‘‘evidence,’’ reasons for choosing or not choosing qualitative research, the strengths and pitfalls of a familiar or unfamiliar research territory, social responsibility in research, and how social work values and training are allied with but also different from qualitative research. Regarding the latter issue, for example, in a later chapter, Padgett carefully distinguishes between case studies in qualitative research and case studies in clinical education. Importantly, whether Padgett discusses method or epistemology, she articulates the historical and disciplinary background for each, which notably enhances our understanding of methods and epistemologies in context rather than simply as ‘‘tools. ’’ Every chapter concludes with a set of class exercises and a list of relevant additional readings. The first chapter also concludes with a selection of journals that feature qualitative studies and an annotated list of Web sites for qualitative methods workshops, conferences, and resources. A later chapter adds a list of qualitative data analysis software readings, information, and products, and the ‘‘Telling the Story’’ chapter provides a list of selected qualitative monographs. Padgett’s thoroughness, depth, and creativity are also evident in every chapter. For example, chapter 4 presents an intensive discussion of ethical issues that go far beyond the typical focus on how to navigate Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications to interpreting federal guidelines, to the encroachment of administrative aides and bureaucracy on institutional boards, and ultimately to what is actually considered research and by whom. This discussion also highlights how qualitative researchers can most effectively maneuver an IRB landscape that is oriented to a biomedical rather than to a social science model. Notably, Padgett’s chapters also include qualitative research topics that are seldom explicated or even mentioned, such as secondary analysis of qualitative data, elite interviews, language differences in both interviewing and transcription, the lack of fit of qualitative comparative analysis, and how qualitative research can be used in mixed-method program and practice evaluations. She also considers rapid ethnographic assessment (REA) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) from a contemporary lens on the rigor-relevance debate of the 1980s. Pedagogically, Padgett not only presents a thorough-going explication of qualitative methods for social work and allied professional fields and disciplines, but every discussion models the qualities that qualitative researchers need: in particular, reflexivity, self-critique, humor (at herself and at the occasional verbal mouthful), how to learn from one’s mistakes, and balanced critical analysis. As such, Padgett’s readers will absorb the reasons for and the ‘‘how-tos’’ of qualitative research methods through both intellectual and sensory modes as they engage with the text. Another unique aspect of Padgett’s book is the facility with which she travels between theory and pragmatics. For example, in the first paragraph of the preface, we see that her new edition reflects the methodological firestorm that has raged over the past decade or so in its epistemological, philosophical, and methodological sophistication and diversity. At the same time, Padgett does not get lost in the epistemological debate. Her self-proclaimed pragmatism ‘‘places a premium on the social relevance of research as its main claim to credibility rather than allegiance to one or another philosophical argument about the nature of reality’’ (p. xviii). My only critique of Padgett’s pragmatic orientation as it is proffered in this book is that it often seemed to truncate critical analysis and debate in favor of moderated resolution. However, given the number of debates the book addresses, it is equally likely that publisher page limits were the operative truncating factor. Regardless, important empirical positions and voices were identified throughout that the reader can pursue in greater depth in the future. In conclusion, and to underscore the book’s reach, I (as an ethnographic researcher) end this review of Deborah Padgett’s second edition of Qualitative Methods in Social Work Research with two unsolicited tributes to its excellence, each with the author’s written permission. The first was part of a second year master of social work (MSW) student’s paper after she conducted a 1-hr observational analysis of a County Assistance Office in fall 2008, in preparation for which she was assigned a section of Padgett’s second edition: