Three Approaches to Research

General level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

It is chosen because of its strength of drawing on both qualitative and quantitative research and minimizing the limitations of both approaches

Practical level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

It provides a sophisticated, complex approach to research that appeals to those on the forefront of new research procedures.

Practical level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

It also can be an ideal approach if the researcher has access to both quantitative and qualitative data.

Procedural level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

It is a useful strategy to have a more complete understanding of research problems and questions

Procedural level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

Comparing different perspectives drawn from quantitative and qualitative data

Procedural level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

Explaining quantitative results with a qualitative follow-up data collection and analysis

Procedural level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

Developing better contextualized measurement instruments by first collecting and analyzing qualitative data and then administrating the instruments to a sample

Procedural level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

Augmenting experiments or trials by incorporating the perspectives of individuals

Procedural level

What level of reason when choosing mixed methods research is this:

Evaluating both the processes and the outcomes of a program, an experimental intervention, or a policy decision

Convergent Mixed Methods Design

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

Three Core Mixed Methods DESIGNS

Convergent Mixed Methods Design

• It is a form of mixed methods design in which the researcher converges or merges quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem.

• In this design, the investigator typically collects both forms of data at roughly the same time and then integrates the information in the interpretation of the overall results.

• Contradictions or incongruent findings are explained or further probed in this design.

Convergent Mixed Methods Design

The most familiar of the core and complex mixed methods approaches. Researchers new to mixed methods typically first think of this approach because they feel that mixed methods only consists of combining the quantitative and qualitative data.

Convergent Mixed Methods Design

In this single-phase approach, a researcher collects both quantitative and qualitative data, analyzes them separately, and then compares the results to see if the findings confirm or disconfirm each other.

Convergent mixed methods design

The key assumption of this approach is that both qualitative and quantitative data provide different types of information—often detailed views of participants qualitatively and scores on instruments quantitatively—and together they yield results that should be the same.

Convergent mixed methods design

Ideally, the key idea with this design is to collect both forms of data using the same or parallel variables, constructs, or concepts.

False

True or False

The data for the quantitative data collection will be smaller than that for the qualitative data collection.

1. Analyze the qualitative database by coding the data and collapsing the codes into broad themes.

2. Analyze the quantitative database in terms of statistical results.

3. Comes the mixed methods data analysis. This is the analysis that consists of integrating the two databases. This integration consists of merging the results from both the qualitative and the quantitative findings.

Data analysis in a convergent design consists of three phases

side-by-side

the researcher might start with the qualitative findings and then compare them to the quantitative results. Mixed methods writers call this a __________ approach because the researcher makes the comparison within a discussion, presenting first one set of findings and then the other

Data transformation

Researchers can also merge the two databases by changing or transforming qualitative codes or themes into quantitative variables and then combining the two quantitative databases—a procedure in mixed methods research called

joint display of data

A final procedure involves merging the two forms of data in a table or a graph. it can take many different forms. It might be a table that arrays the themes on the horizontal axis and a categorical variable (e.g., different types of providers such as nurses, physician assistants, and doctors) on the vertical axis.

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

Is one in which the researcher first conducts quantitative research, analyzes the results and then builds on the results to explain them in more detail with qualitative research.

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

It involves a two-phase data collection project in which the researcher collects quantitative data in the first phase, analyzes the results, and then uses the results to plan (or build on to) the second, qualitative phase

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The overall intent of this design is to have the qualitative data help explain in more detail the initial quantitative results, thus it is important to tie together or to connect the quantitative results to the qualitative data collection.

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The data collection proceeds in two distinct phases with rigorous quantitative sampling in the first phase and with purposeful sampling in the second, qualitative phase.

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The key idea is that the qualitative data collection builds directly on the quantitative results.

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The quantitative and the qualitative databases are analyzed separately in this approach. Then the researcher combines the two databases by the form of integration called connecting the quantitative results to the qualitative data collection.

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

One important area is that the quantitative results cannot only inform the sampling procedure but it can also point toward the types of qualitative questions to ask participants in the second phase. These questions, like all good qualitative research questions, are general and open-ended.

spaced out over time.

advantage of Exploratory is that one database explains the other and the data collection can be ________

Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The mixed methods researcher interprets the follow up results in a discussion section of the study. This interpretation follows the form of first reporting the quantitative, first-phase results and then the qualitative, second phase results.

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

In this approach the researcher first begins with a qualitative research phase and explores the views of participants. The data are then analyzed, and the information used to build into a second, quantitative phase.

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The qualitative phase may be used to build an instrument that best fits the sample under study, to identify appropriate instruments to use in the follow-up quantitative phase, to develop an intervention for an experiment, to design an app or website, or to specify variables that need to go into a follow-up quantitative study test of a program or experimental intervention.

three-phase exploratory sequential mixed methods

is a design in which the researcher first begins by exploring with qualitative data and analysis, then builds a feature to be tested (e.g., a new survey instrument, experimental procedures, a website, or new variables) and tests this feature in a quantitative third phase.

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

The intent of this design is to explore with a sample first so that a later quantitative phase can be tailored to meet the needs of the individuals being studied.

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

In this strategy, the data collection would occur at two points in the design: the initial qualitative data collection and the test of the quantitative feature in the third phase of the project. The challenge is how to use the information from the initial qualitative phase to build or identify the quantitative feature in the second phase.

True

True or False

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design:

Researchers must make sure that the individuals for both samples are not the same. To have individuals help develop an instrument and then to survey them in the quantitative phase would introduce confounding factors into the study.

Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design

In this strategy the researcher analyzes the two databases separately and uses the findings from the initial exploratory database to build into a feature that can be analyzed quantitatively. So, integration in this design involves using the qualitative findings (or results) to inform the design of a quantitative phase of the research such as the development of a measurement instrument or new variables

first report the qualitative findings

the development or design of the feature to be tested (e.g., the development of an instrument

the development of new quantitative measures, and then the quantitative test in the final phase of the study.

The order of interpretation in Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design is to