Mixed methods research
Mixed methods research (MMR) is an approach that combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide a more comprehensive understanding of research problems. By integrating these two methodologies, MMR allows researchers to capture different facets of an issue, which can lead to richer insights than relying on a single method alone. The approach recognizes the potential limitations of viewing problems from only one perspective and aims to mitigate these by employing a holistic approach.
The concept of triangulation is central to MMR, involving the use of multiple methods to cross-verify findings. This can reinforce the validity of results when different methodologies yield similar outcomes, while also encouraging researchers to reconsider their approaches if conflicting results arise. The relationship between qualitative and quantitative methods has sparked debate within the research community, with some viewing them as opposing forces and others advocating for their combined use through a pragmatic lens.
Despite its strengths, MMR also presents challenges, particularly in requiring researchers to possess diverse skill sets or collaborate in teams adept at various methods. Proponents of MMR advocate for methodological eclecticism and paradigm pluralism, suggesting that the choice of research methods should align with the specific aspects of the problem being studied.
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Mixed methods research
Mixed methods research (MMR), sometimes called multimethodology is an approach to a research problem that leverages the advantages of both qualitative and quantitative research methods to better understand the subject than any individual approach could offer on its own. It recognizes that qualitative and quantitative data can each contribute to different aspects of understanding of a problem, and it integrates both approaches within a holistic methodological approach.
If a problem is viewed from only one perspective, only a single facet of the situation will be seen, which may be misleading. MMR allows research problems to be viewed from multiple perspectives, giving a clearer picture of the issue.
Overview
There is often a dividing line between quantitative research and qualitative research. It is often assumed that quantitative research draws on positivistic ontologies of research, whereas by comparison qualitative research draws more upon interpretative, critical, and constructivist research traditions. Within the field of research, there is a broad spectrum of opinion and debate as far as these approaches to research are concerned. Some see them as diametrically opposed, whereas others see that with a pragmatic approach, different techniques can work together. The division between quantitative and qualitative research led Charles Teddlie and Abbas Tashakkori to characterize MMR as “the third methodological movement.”
Using data from multiple methodological approaches is referred to as triangulation. Triangulation involves using more than two methods in order to cross check results; the idea is that if different research methodologies produce broadly similar results, then the strength of the research is reinforced. If the results from different research methods produce conflicting results, then the researcher has the opportunity to revise how the methods used may have impacted the results or determine whether or not the problem needs to be reframed. Triangulation can also involve using multiple researchers, multiple theoretical approaches to a problem, and different empirical data for the same problem. While triangulation focuses on the convergence of results, equally interesting are cases where different methods produce divergent or dissimilar results. This in itself can yield interesting insights into the issue being examined.
While MMR aims to compensate for the weaknesses of using a single method, the technique poses some challenges. Often quantitative and qualitative researchers have advanced challenging, opposed, and contrary epistemologies allied to their research approaches. Proponents of MMR have countered this with notions of methodological eclecticism framed within a research paradigm of pragmatism. Rather than adopting fixed ontological viewpoints, proponents of MMR argue for paradigm pluralism; that is, choosing research paradigms that are appropriate for different aspects of a problem.
The practical challenges of MMR include requiring the researcher to have a broad skill set in order to be able to apply a range of different methods competently or to work as part of an organized research team that can deploy a range of methods in search of common answers.
Bibliography
Bergman, Manfred Max. Advances in Mixed Methods Research: Theories and Applications. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2008, Print.
Cresswell, John, W. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2013. Print
Cresswell, John, W., and Vicki Lynn Plano Clark. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2010. Print
Edmonds, W. Alex, and Thomas D. Kennedy. An Applied Reference Guide to Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2012. Print.
Johnson, Burke, and Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber. The Oxford Handbook Of Multimethod And Mixed Methods Research Inquiry. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2015. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 June 2015.
Johnson, R. Burke, and Anthony Onwuegbuzie. “Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come.” Educational Researcher 33.7 (2004): 14–26. Print.
Johnson, R. Burke, Anthony Onwuegbuzie, and Lisa A. Turner. “Toward a Definition of Mixed Methods Research.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research 1.2 (2007): 112–33. Print.
Leech, Nancy L., and Anthony Onwuegbuzie. “A Typology of Mixed Methods Research Designs.” Quality & Quantity 43.2 (2009): 265–75. Print.
Schensul, Stephen L., Jean J. Schensul, and Margaret D. Le Compte. Initiating Ethnographic Research: A Mixed Methods Approach. Lanham: AltaMira, 2012. Print.
Teddlie, Charles, and Abbas Tashakkori. Foundations of Mixed Methods Research: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2008, Print.
Teddlie, Charles, and Abbas Tashakkori. “Mixed Methods Research: Contemporary Issues in an Emerging Field.” The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. 4th ed. Eds. Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Norman. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2011. 285–300. Print.