Mixed methods research: combining quantitative and qualitative research
What is the name of one of the arguments that suggests that research methods are inextricably linked to epistemological commitments?
Triangulation argument
Postmodern argument
Embedded methods argument
Positivist argument
Embedded methods argument
There are two main arguments against multi-strategy research. The embedded methods argument suggests that every research method is tied to a particular epistemological position that is incompatible with others. This argument has been answered in chapter 26 but is mentioned here again to force an understanding of the difference between a tool and its user. The other main argument against mixing quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study is called the paradigm argument. Paradigms are grand views of the world and of the methods available for scientific enquiry. Different paradigms are distinct from each other because of their divergent assumptions and methods. If quantitative and qualitative research indicates two separate paradigms, then they could never be mixed. Bryman asks whether that can be true (p636). It seems there are considerable areas of overlap and commonality between them.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 636
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 636
Embedded methods argument There are two main arguments against multi-strategy research. The embedded methods argument suggests that every research method is tied to a particular epistemological position that is incompatible with others. This argument has been answered in chapter 26 but is mentioned here again to force an understanding of the difference between a tool and its user. The other main argument against mixing quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study is called the paradigm argument. Paradigms are grand views of the world and of the methods available for scientific enquiry. Different paradigms are distinct from each other because of their divergent assumptions and methods. If quantitative and qualitative research indicates two separate paradigms, then they could never be mixed. Bryman asks whether that can be true (p636). It seems there are considerable areas of overlap and commonality between them.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 636
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 636
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When might unplanned multi-stage research be described as a “salvage operation”?A. When the researcher abandons their original strategy and starts all over again
B. When the second research strategy is used to explain unexpected or puzzling results
C. When there is a paradigm shift from quantitative to qualitative research
D. When it is ethically unsound to use only one research strategy
How might quantitative research facilitate qualitative research?
A. By identifying specific groups of people to be interviewed
B. By showing the frequency of different responses to a survey item
C. By imposing a rigorous positivist framework on it
D. By combining laboratory experiments with structured observation
How might qualitative research facilitate quantitative research?
A. By providing hypotheses that can later be tested
B. By helping with the design of survey questions
C. By informing the schedule of a structured interview
D. All of the above
Which version of the debate about multi-strategy research suggests that quantitative and qualitative research is compatible?
A. Technical version
B. Methodological version
C. Epistemological version
D. Feminist version
How might qualitative research help with the analysis of quantitative data?
A. By identifying a sample of respondents for a follow-up study
B. By providing hard, statistical data about them
C. By making the research more value-laden and subjective
D. By helping to explain the relationship between two variables
How can multi-strategy research help us to study different aspects of a phenomenon?
A. By reducing the standard deviation of scores around the mean
B. By allowing the researcher to interview first women, and then men
C. By revealing both the macro and the micro level
D. By making it unnecessary to have more than one stage in the research process
What is triangulation?
A. Using three quantitative or three qualitative methods in a project
B. Cross-checking the results found by different research strategies
C. Allowing theoretical concepts to emerge from the data
D. Drawing a triangular diagram to represent the relations between three concepts
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