WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH? DAY EVENT10 January 2012

NCRM - Quest

WHAT IS MIXED METHODS RESEARCH?

Rosalind Edwards

Sociology and Social Policy

“Mixed methods research is a methodology for conducting research that involves collecting, analyzing, and integrating (or mixing) quantitative and qualitative research (and data) in a single study or a longitudinal program of inquiry. The purpose of this form of research is that both qualitative and quantitative research, in combination, provide a better understanding of a research problem or issue than either research approach alone.”

(Creswell, 2008)

Models of Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

• Qualitative methods as a facilitator of quantitative work

• Quantitative methods as a facilitator of qualitative work

• Qualitative and quantitative as equally important

Factors: relative importance order in relation to each otherstage of the research process

Qualitative work as facilitating

quantitative work

• Provides ideas / hypotheses

• Develop / pilot research instruments

• Clarify / illustrate data

Quantitative methods as facilitating

qualitative work

• Provides contextual background

• Provides basis for sampling

• Tests ideas / hypotheses

Qualitative and quantitative methods have equal emphasis

• Combined research instrument

• Side by side projects

• Consecutive / simultaneous data gathering

• Equal part in analysis / writing up

Epistemological fit

• Complementarity

• Integration

Parents’ typifications of bringing up mixed children based on interviews

Self-completion survey

openindividualise

mixcollective

singlecollective

Key:mother

father

Tenure of accommodation of parents in mixed relationships

Home owner (75.5%)

Public rental (11.5%)

Private rented (13%)