Mixed Methods Research | Definition, Guide & Examples

Mixed methods research combines elements of quantitative research and qualitative research in order to answer your research question. Havealanguageexpertimproveyourwriting ProofreadingServices Runafreeplagiarismcheckin10minutes PlagiarismChecker Generateaccuratecitationsforfree CitationGenerator Home KnowledgeBase Methodology MixedMethodsResearch|Definition,Guide&Examples MethodologyAnintroductiontoresearchmethodsResearchapproachesInductivevs.deductiveInductivevs.deductiveInductivereasoningDeductivereasoningQualitativevs.quantitativeQualitativevs.quantitativeQuantitativeresearchQualitativeresearchMixedmethodsresearchTypesofresearchcomparedResearchdesignsResearchdesignstepbystepDescriptiveCorrelationalExperimentalQuasi-experimentalCross-sectionalLongitudinalCasestudyEthnographicExploratoryExplanatoryVariablesandhypothesesTypesofvariablesIndependentvs.dependentExplanatoryvs.responseMediatorvs.moderatorExtraneousvariablesConfoundingvariablesControlvariablesCorrelationvs.causationOperationalizationWritinghypothesesReliability&validityReliabilityvs.validityTypesofreliabilityTypesofvalidityTypesofvalidityInternalvs.externalInternalvalidityEcologicalvalidityExternalvalidityConstructvalidityContentvalidityCriterionvalidityConcurrentvalidityDiscriminantvalidityFacevalidityConvergentvalidityReproducibility&replicabilityRandom&systematicerrorTriangulationSamplingPopulationvs.sampleSamplingmethodsProbabilityvs.non-probabilitysamplingProbabilitysamplingNon-probabilitysamplingSimplerandomsamplingSystematicsamplingStratifiedsamplingClustersamplingQuotasamplingPurposivesamplingConveniencesamplingMultistagesamplingSnowballsamplingSamplingbiasCollectingdataStep-by-stepSurveysDoingsurveyresearchDesigningquestionnairesLikertscalesInterviewsTypesofinterviewsinresearchStructuredinterviewSemi-structuredinterviewUnstructuredinterviewFocusgroupExperimentsDesigninganexperimentControlledexperimentsControlgroupsRandomassignmentBlindingBetween-subjectsdesignWithin-subjectsdesignObservationalstudiesStep-by-stepNaturalisticobservationSystematicreviewPreparingdataDatacleansingTranscribinginterviewsAnalyzingdataStatisticalanalysisContentanalysisDiscourseanalysisThematicanalysisTextualanalysisWritingupmethodsMethodologyinathesisMethodsinAPAstyleResearchethicsPeerreview Interestingtopics ChicagoStyle AMAstyle Nounsandpronouns Researchbias UKvs.USEnglish Definitions Commas Commonlyconfusedwords IEEE Workingwithsources Collegeessay APAStyle6thedition Applyingtograduateschool Statistics Languagerules Methodology MLAStyle Researchpaper Academicwriting Startingtheresearchprocess Dissertation Essay Tips APAStyle7thedition APAcitationexamples Citingsources Plagiarism Havealanguageexpertimproveyourwriting ProofreadingServices Runafreeplagiarismcheckin10minutes PlagiarismChecker Generateaccuratecitationsforfree CitationGenerator MixedMethodsResearch|Definition,Guide&Examples Publishedon August13,2021 by TeganGeorge. Revisedon July21,2022. Mixedmethodsresearchcombineselementsofquantitativeresearchandqualitativeresearchinordertoansweryourresearchquestion.Mixedmethodscanhelpyougainamorecompletepicturethanastandalonequantitativeorqualitativestudy,asitintegratesbenefitsofbothmethods. Mixedmethodsresearchisoftenusedinthebehavioral,health,andsocialsciences,especiallyinmultidisciplinarysettingsandcomplexsituationalorsocietalresearch. Mixedmethodsresearchquestionexamples Towhatextentdoesthefrequencyoftrafficaccidents(quantitative)reflectcyclistperceptionsofroadsafety(qualitative)inAmsterdam? Howdostudentperceptionsoftheirschoolenvironment(qualitative)relatetodifferencesintestscores(quantitative)? HowdointerviewsaboutjobsatisfactionatCompanyX(qualitative)helpexplainyear-over-yearsalesperformanceandotherKPIs(quantitative)? Howcanvoterandnon-voterbeliefsaboutdemocracy(qualitative)helpexplainelectionturnoutpatterns(quantitative)inTownX? Howdoaveragehospitalsalarymeasurementsovertime(quantitative)helptoexplainnursetestimonialsaboutjobsatisfaction(qualitative)? TableofcontentsWhentousemixedmethodsresearchMixedmethodsresearchdesignsAdvantagesofmixedmethodsresearchDisadvantagesofmixedmethodsresearchFrequentlyaskedquestions Whentousemixedmethodsresearch Mixedmethodsresearchmaybetherightchoiceifyourresearchprocesssuggeststhatquantitativeorqualitativedataalonewillnotsufficientlyansweryourresearchquestion.Thereareseveralcommonreasonsforusingmixedmethodsresearch: Generalizability:Qualitativeresearchusuallyhasasmallersamplesize,andthusisnotgeneralizable.Inmixedmethodsresearch,thiscomparativeweaknessismitigatedbythecomparativestrengthof“largeN,”externallyvalidquantitativeresearch. Contextualization:Mixingmethodsallowsyoutoputfindingsincontextandaddricherdetailtoyourconclusions.Usingqualitativedatatoillustratequantitativefindingscanhelp“putmeatonthebones”ofyouranalysis. Credibility:Usingdifferentmethodstocollectdataonthesamesubjectcanmakeyourresultsmorecredible.Ifthequalitativeandquantitativedataconverge,thisstrengthensthevalidityofyourconclusions.Thisprocessiscalledtriangulation. Asyouformulateyourresearchquestion,trytodirectlyaddresshowqualitativeandquantitativemethodswillbecombinedinyourstudy.Ifyourresearchquestioncanbesufficientlyansweredviastandalonequantitativeorqualitativeanalysis,amixedmethodsapproachmaynotbetherightfit. ResearchexampleYouwanttoresearchcyclingsafetyinhigh-trafficareasofAmsterdam.Ifyou’reinterestedinthefrequencyofaccidentsandwheretheyoccur,thiscouldbeastraightforwardquantitativeanalysis.Ifyou’reinterestedinthenatureofcomplaintssubmittedbycyclists,ortheirperceptionsaboutcyclinginparticularareas,thenaqualitativeapproachmayfitbest. Butmixedmethodsmightbeagoodchoiceifyouwanttomeaningfullyintegratebothofthesequestionsinoneresearchstudy. Forexample,youcoulduseamixedmethodsdesigntoinvestigatewhetherareasperceivedasdangeroushavehighaccidentrates,ortoexplorewhyspecificareasaremoredangerousforcycliststhanothers. Keepinmindthatmixedmethodsresearchdoesn’tjustmeancollectingbothtypesofdata;youneedtocarefullyconsidertherelationshipbetweenthetwoandhowyou’llintegratethemintocoherentconclusions.Mixedmethodscanbeverychallengingtoputintopractice,soit’salesscommonchoicethanstandalonequalitativeorqualitativeresearch. Mixedmethodsresearchdesigns Therearedifferenttypesofmixedmethodsresearchdesigns.Thedifferencesbetweenthemrelatetotheaimoftheresearch,thetimingofthedatacollection,andtheimportancegiventoeachdatatype. Asyoudesignyourmixedmethodsstudy,alsokeepinmind: Yourresearchapproach(inductivevsdeductive) Yourresearchquestions Whatkindofdataisalreadyavailableforyoutouse Whatkindofdatayou’reabletocollectyourself. Hereareafewofthemostcommonmixedmethodsdesigns. Convergentparallel Inaconvergentparalleldesign,youcollectquantitativeandqualitativedataatthesametimeandanalyzethemseparately.Afterbothanalysesarecomplete,compareyourresultstodrawoverallconclusions. Example:ConvergentparalleldesignInyourresearchoncyclingsafetyinAmsterdam,youundertakebothsidesofyourresearchsimultaneously: Onthequalitativeside,youanalyzecyclistcomplaintsviathecity’sdatabaseandonsocialmediatofindoutwhichareasareperceivedasdangerousandwhy. Onthequantitativeside,youanalyzeaccidentreportsinthecity’sdatabasetofindouthowfrequentlyaccidentsoccurindifferentareasofthecity. Whenyoufinishyourdatacollectionandanalysis,youthencompareresultsandtieyourfindingstogether. Embedded Inanembeddeddesign,youcollectandanalyzebothtypesofdataatthesametime,butwithinalargerquantitativeorqualitativedesign.Onetypeofdataissecondarytotheother. Thisisagoodapproachtotakeifyouhavelimitedtimeorresources.Youcanuseanembeddeddesigntostrengthenorsupplementyourconclusionsfromtheprimarytypeofresearchdesign. Example:EmbeddeddesignAspartofaquantitativestudytestingwhetherthenumberofcyclistcomplaintsaboutanareacorrelateswiththenumberofaccidents,youcould“embed”aseriesofqualitativeinterviewswithcyclistswhosubmittedcomplaintstofurtherstrengthenyourargument.Thebulkofyourresearchremainsquantitative. Explanatorysequential Inanexplanatorysequentialdesign,yourquantitativedatacollectionandanalysisoccursfirst,followedbyqualitativedatacollectionandanalysis. Youshouldusethisdesignifyouthinkyourqualitativedatawillexplainandcontextualizeyourquantitativefindings. Example:ExplanatorysequentialYouanalyzetheaccidentstatisticsfirstanddrawpreliminaryconclusionsaboutwhichareasaremostdangerous.Basedonthesefindings,youconductinterviewswithcyclistsinhigh-accidentareasandanalyzecomplaintsqualitatively. Youcanutilizethequalitativedatatoexplainwhyaccidentsoccuronspecificroads,andtakeadeepdiveintoparticularproblemareas. Exploratorysequential Inanexploratorysequentialdesign,qualitativedatacollectionandanalysisoccursfirst,followedbyquantitativedatacollectionandanalysis. Youcanusethisdesigntofirstexploreinitialquestionsanddevelophypotheses.Thenyoucanusethequantitativedatatotestorconfirmyourqualitativefindings. Example:ExploratorysequentialdesignYoufirstinterviewcycliststodevelopaninitialunderstandingofproblemareas,anddrawpreliminaryconclusions.Thenyouanalyzeaccidentstatisticstotestwhethercyclistperceptionslineupwithwhereaccidentsoccur. Here'swhystudentsloveScribbr'sproofreadingservices Trustpilot Discoverproofreading&editing Advantagesofmixedmethodsresearch “Bestofbothworlds”analysis Combiningthetwotypesofdatameansyoubenefitfromboththedetailed,contextualizedinsightsofqualitativedataandthegeneralizable,externallyvalidinsightsofquantitativedata.Thestrengthsofonetypeofdataoftenmitigatetheweaknessesoftheother. Forexample,solelyquantitativestudiesoftenstruggletoincorporatethelivedexperiencesofyourparticipants,soaddingqualitativedatadeepensandenrichesyourquantitativeresults. Solelyqualitativestudiesareoftennotverygeneralizable,onlyreflectingtheexperiencesofyourparticipants,soaddingquantitativedatacanvalidateyourqualitativefindings. Methodflexibility Mixedmethodsarelesstiedtodisciplinesandestablishedresearchparadigms.Theyoffermoreflexibilityindesigningyourresearch,allowingyoutocombineaspectsofdifferenttypesofstudiestodistillthemostinformativeresults. Mixedmethodsresearchcanalsocombinetheorygenerationandhypothesistestingwithinasinglestudy,whichisunusualforstandalonequalitativeorquantitativestudies. Disadvantagesofmixedmethodsresearch Workload Mixedmethodsresearchisverylabor-intensive.Collecting,analyzing,andsynthesizingtwotypesofdataintooneresearchproducttakesalotoftimeandeffort,andofteninvolvesinterdisciplinaryteamsofresearchersratherthanindividuals.Forthisreason,mixedmethodsresearchhasthepotentialtocostmuchmorethanstandalonestudies. Differingorconflictingresults Ifyouranalysisyieldsconflictingresults,itcanbeverychallengingtoknowhowtointerprettheminamixedmethodsstudy.Ifthequantitativeandqualitativeresultsdonotagreeoryouareconcernedyoumayhaveconfoundingvariables,itcanbeunclearhowtoproceed. Duetothefactthatquantitativeandqualitativedatataketwovastlydifferentforms,itcanalsobedifficulttofindwaystosystematicallycomparetheresults. Frequentlyaskedquestions What’sthedifferencebetweenquantitativeandqualitativemethods? Quantitativeresearchdealswithnumbersandstatistics,whilequalitativeresearchdealswithwordsandmeanings. Quantitativemethodsallowyoutosystematicallymeasurevariablesandtesthypotheses.Qualitativemethodsallowyoutoexploreconceptsandexperiencesinmoredetail. Whatismixedmethodsresearch? Inmixedmethodsresearch,youusebothqualitativeandquantitativedatacollectionandanalysismethodstoansweryourresearchquestion. Whatisdatacollection? Datacollectionisthesystematicprocessbywhichobservationsormeasurementsaregatheredinresearch.Itisusedinmanydifferentcontextsbyacademics,governments,businesses,andotherorganizations. Whatistriangulationinresearch? Triangulationinresearchmeansusingmultipledatasets,methods,theoriesand/orinvestigatorstoaddressaresearchquestion.It’saresearchstrategythatcanhelpyouenhancethevalidityandcredibilityofyourfindings. Triangulationismainlyusedinqualitativeresearch,butit’salsocommonlyappliedinquantitativeresearch.Mixedmethodsresearchalwaysusestriangulation. Whatarethemaintypesofmixedmethodsresearchdesigns? Thesearefourofthemostcommonmixedmethodsdesigns: Convergentparallel:Quantitativeandqualitativedataarecollectedatthesametimeandanalyzedseparately.Afterbothanalysesarecomplete,compareyourresultstodrawoverallconclusions.  Embedded:Quantitativeandqualitativedataarecollectedatthesametime,butwithinalargerquantitativeorqualitativedesign.Onetypeofdataissecondarytotheother. Explanatorysequential:Quantitativedataiscollectedandanalyzedfirst,followedbyqualitativedata.Youcanusethisdesignifyouthinkyourqualitativedatawillexplainandcontextualizeyourquantitativefindings. Exploratorysequential:Qualitativedataiscollectedandanalyzedfirst,followedbyquantitativedata.Youcanusethisdesignifyouthinkthequantitativedatawillconfirmorvalidateyourqualitativefindings. Isthisarticlehelpful? 333 14 Youhavealreadyvoted.Thanks:-) Yourvoteissaved:-) Processingyourvote... TeganGeorge TeganisanAmericanbasedinAmsterdam,withmaster'sdegreesinpoliticalscienceandeducationadministration.Whilesheisdefinitelyapoliticalscientistatheart,herexperienceworkingatuniversitiesledtoapassionformakingsocialsciencetopicsmoreapproachableandexcitingtostudents.Awell-designednaturalexperimentisherfavoritetypeofresearch,butshealsolovesqualitativemethodsofallvarieties. Otherstudentsalsoliked DevelopingStrongResearchQuestions|Criteria&Examples Researchquestionsgiveyourprojectaclearfocus.Theyshouldbespecificandfeasible,butcomplexenoughtomeritadetailedanswer. 2236 WhatIsQuantitativeResearch?|Definition,Uses&Methods Quantitativeresearchmeanscollectingandanalyzingnumericaldatatodescribecharacteristics,findcorrelations,ortesthypotheses. 1617 WhatIsQualitativeResearch?|Methods&Examples Qualitativeresearchinvolvescollectingandanalyzingnon-numericaldatatounderstandconcepts,opinionsorexperiences. 3384 Whatisyourplagiarismscore? ScribbrPlagiarismChecker