Mixed Methods Research: Exploring the Interactive Continuum

Preface

xi Preface Qualitative and quantitative research strategies and their underlying presuppositions have been increasingly debated since the early 1980s as though one or the other should eventually emerge as superior. We reject the dichotomy assumed by this debate. We address the growing popularity of the mixed methods research paradigm as one that most usefully assumes research as a qualitative-quantitative interactive continuum. We take the position that the qualitative and quantitative philosophies are neither mutually exclusive (i.e., one need not totally commit to either one or the other) nor interchangeable (i.e., one cannot merge methodologies with no concern for underlying assumptions), which might be a consequence of mixed methods approaches that are not thoughtfully pursued. Rather, we present qualitative and quantitative research as interactive places on a methodological and philosophical continuum based on the philosophy of science as identified by Popper, Dewey, and Kerlinger and Lee. A researcher tests a theory, and, as results feed back to the original hypothesis, both inductive and deductive processes are operational at different points in time; qualitative and quantitative methods are invoked at different points in time; and feedback loops facilitate maximizing the strengths of both methodologies. We intend this book to meet the general needs of two audiences: research designers and research consumers. For the first audience, it is imperative that researchers understand both the determinative nature of the research questions they ask and the assumptions on which they build their designs. This book is intended to assist in building effective designs. Although the first edition (Newman & Benz, 1998) focused on the research question as central to the research methods, in this second edition, we add the importance of the research purpose as even more important in each researcher’s thinking and decision making. Both are crucial determinants. As for the second audience, sophisticated consumers of research need ways to assess the truth value of research preface xii findings. The practical approach to criticizing studies will enhance the quality of the judgments research consumers are able to make. A unique contribution to research practitioners and consumers, the book addresses the growing role of mixed methods research in a new way—as an interactive continuum. The book is founded on the underlying philosophical assumptions of both qualitative and quantitative research. Both paradigms have their own contributions to building a knowledge base. The book serves mainly as a practical tool. Graphic depictions and narrative descriptions present research as a holistic endeavor; that is, both qualitative and quantitative paradigms coexist in a unified real world of inquiry. Graduate students and social science faculty have already applied the ideas contained within this book, using drafts of our ideas over the past twenty years and in the first edition. The current volume would be most effectively used as a supplementary book in a graduate-level research-methods course. It could be used by faculty in the behavioral and social sciences to assist in their own research and their work with master’s and doctoral students. Education and psychology are our areas of teaching and research, and the ideas are certainly applicable to these fields. However, the ideas and methods are also applicable to the fields of sociology, economics, political science, anthropology, business, and social work. Research workers outside the university will find this a useful supplement to other research manuals. The purpose of this book is not to teach qualitative and quantitative methods. That is the purpose of other books. Our aim is to have consumers and planners of research think carefully about the consistency among research designs, research purposes, and research questions. We assume that the reader has had at least an introductory course in statistics. Fundamental conceptualization of research constructs will help the reader, but a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of neither statistics nor ethnographic strategies is necessary to use the ideas we propose. We have included a glossary to clarify those terms necessary to understand the interactive continuum concept. Mixed Methods Research ...