Overview
Mixed-Methods
of
Designs/Qualitative
Designs
Mixed-Methods Research Designs
More and more, researchers are employing research designs that
combine both qualitative and quantitative methods. These types of
research designs have become known as mixed-methods research designs.
Mixed-methods combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to only
the research methods (i.e., data collection and procedures) portion of
the research process. These designs are not to be confused with mixedmodel designs (see Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998), which combine these
two approaches across all phases of the research process, including
their respective underlying philosophical assumptions, approaches for
generating research questions and hypotheses, and bases for analysis
and inference (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998).
Mixed-methods studies are appropriate when a researcher has both
quantitative and qualitative data, and both types of data—when
considered together—can provide a better understanding of the research
problem than either type of data alone (Creswell, 2005). One of the
major benefits of mixed-methods research is that it capitalizes on the
strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research. For example,
quantitative data yields information that can be analyzed
statistically and can offer useful information if one needs to
describe a large number of people. However, qualitative data, such as
open-ended interviews, offer the chance for individuals to express
their own perspectives on the topic. Combining these two types of data
provides very "powerful" information about the study topic at hand
(Creswell, 2005). The researcher is afforded the opportunity to
develop a much more complex picture of the phenomenon under study.
Another situation appropriate for a mixed-methods study occurs
when a researcher wants to build from, or extend, one phase of
research to another. For example, a researcher may want to first
explore qualitative data in order to guide the development of a
quantitative survey instrument, or to identify variables in order to
study them in a subsequent quantitative study. Similarly, the
researcher may wish to follow up a quantitative study with a
qualitative one in order to collect more detailed information that
might support or extend explanations that could be drawn from the
results of statistical analyses (Creswell, 2005).
Source:
Mertler, C. A., & Charles, C. M. (2008). Introduction to
educational research (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Mixed-Methods
I.
Research
Designs
Research Questions…
 Generically-Stated Research Question:


Examples of Appropriately-Stated Research Questions:

II.
…simply combine aspects of qualitative and quantitative
research questions.
What are teachers’ perceptions of the influence of NCLB on
their classroom practices? How have these practices changed
over the past few years?
Sampling & Data…

Randomly selected samples may or may not be important…depending
on the goal of the study (generalization??)

Data will be both qualitative and quantitative
III.


Issues…
There are three main mixed-methods research designs.

the explanatory design,

the exploratory design, and

the triangulation design
In an explanatory mixed-methods design—which is the most common
type of mixed-method design—the researcher first collects
quantitative data and then collects qualitative data in order to
help support, explain, or elaborate on the quantitative results.

Data collection may be done sequentially, or may be done in
two distinct phases.

The rationale for this approach is that the quantitative data
and analysis provide the main focus of the results; the
qualitative data and analysis are used to elaborate on,
refine, or explain the quantitative findings. In this design,
the emphasis is placed clearly on quantitative data and
analysis.
NOTE:

In an exploratory mixed-methods design, the researcher begins by
collecting qualitative data and then collect quantitative data,
either sequentially or using a two-phase approach.


Data collection may be done sequentially, or may be done in
two distinct phases.

Qualitative data—which are emphasized more heavily—are
collected first in order to explore the topic of interest.
Quantitative data are subsequently collected in order to
explain the relationships found in the qualitative data.

A common application of this design involves the exploration
of a phenomenon and the identification of themes (through the
qualitative data), followed by the development of an
instrument and its subsequent use to collect additional data
(this time, the data are quantitative).
In triangulation mixed-methods design, both quantitative and
qualitative data are collected at about the same time.

The two types of data are given equal emphasis; this allows
the researcher to combine the strengths of each form of data.
The rationale behind this design is that the researcher values
equally the two forms of data and treats them as such so that
they are "merged" and the results of analyses are used
simultaneously to understand the research problem.

Quantitative and qualitative results are informally compared
in order to see if they have yielded similar results. Greater
credibility is apparent in the findings to the extent that the
two sets of results converge and indicate the same results.
This process of establishing the convergence of results is
known as triangulation.
Qualitative
Research
Designs
Qualitative research involves the collection, analysis, and
interpretation of data, largely narrative and visual in nature, in
order to gain insights into a particular phenomenon of interest (Gay,
Mills, & Airasian, 2006). The focus of qualitative research tends to
be on the quality of a particular activity, rather than how often it
occurs or how it might be evaluated, which is typically the focus of
quantitative research (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006). Since the focus of
qualitative research is on the quality of a specific phenomenon, there
is a greater emphasis on holistic description—that is, on describing
in thick, rich detail—of the phenomenon, setting, or topic of
interest. This type of description exists in stark contrast to that
resulting from quantitative research, which can be thought of as a
"snapshot" of the topic.
Source:
Mertler, C. A., & Charles, C. M. (2008). Introduction to
educational research (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
I.
Major characteristics…
 Qualitative research is naturalistic.

Qualitative research is descriptive.

Qualitative researchers are concerned with process as well as
product.

Qualitative researchers analyze their data inductively.

Qualitative researchers have a primary concern with how people
make sense and meaning out of their lives.
II.
Qualitative research process…
 Basic series of steps for conducting educational research is
fairly consistent across different types of quantitative
research, but the steps in conducting qualitative research are
not quite as distinct. The steps in a qualitative study may occur
out of their sequential order, may overlap with each other, or
are sometimes conducted simultaneously.

III.

…especially with respect to data collection and analysis…
Approaches to qualitative research…
Ethnographic research, also known as ethnography, involves the
in-depth description and interpretation of the shared or common
practices and beliefs of a culture, social group, or other
community.

The purpose of historical research is to describe events,
occurrences, or settings of the past in an attempt to better
understand them.

The purpose of grounded theory research is to discover an
existing theory or generate a new theory that results directly
from the data. These theories are not generated or stated prior
to the beginning of the study, but are developed inductively from
the data that are collected and analyzed during the study itself.

The intent of phenomenological research is to describe and
interpret the experiences or reactions of participants to a
particular phenomenon from their individual perspectives. The
underlying assumption to this approach is that there are multiple
ways of interpreting the same experience, as well as multiple
meanings that can be derived from that experience.

A case study is an in-depth analysis of a single, restricted
entity. A case might consist of one student, one classroom, one
school, one program, or one community.