19. Mixed methods approach

What is a mixed method approach?

a sociologists using a number of different research methods in their study.

What sociologists say about the mixed methods approach?

Creswell- suggests it is using one research method which collects quantitative data and another way which collects them qualitative data
Francis- suggest that it can be a range of methods that collect the same type of data.

What are the 2 different mixed methods approach?

methodological pluralism + triangulation

What is methodological pluralism?

to build a fuller picture of social life by combining different research methods and different types of data.

How is the method in methodological pluralism should end up like?

on what the researcher wants to discover.

What is triangulation?

it usually involves a combination of methods that gather qualitative +quantitative data to check and verify the validity and reliability of the data collected by each method.

What does triangulation allow the sociologist to get?

a better understanding of what they are studying by looking at it from multiple different angles.

What is investigator triangulation?

involves the use of different researchers to check for observers and interviewer bias

What are the 2 forms of methodological triangulation?

within method + between method

What is the within method?

a variety of techniques within the same method (open + closed ended questions in a questionnaire)- therefore one can check on the validity of the answers and the reliability of the method.

What is the between method?

triangulation is combination of research methods (questionnaires + unstructured interviews), the data produced by each method can be checked by comparing it with the other methods.

What are the advantages of the mixed methods approach?

they allow the sociologist to check the validity from one source against another.
they can be used to improve the representativeness of findings (by using sources that used representative sampling techniques alongside sources that didn’t)
Numbers can be used to add more precision to explanations.

What are the disadvantages of the mixed methods approach?

data analysis can be very time consuming
it demands high levels of skill in the collection and analysis of numerical data and narrative analysis
Tends to be costly in time, resources + money