MIXED METHODS RESEARCH
The "paradigm wars" can be seen in the use of either quantitative or qualitative approaches to research, until the 21st century with the interest in mixed methods research "as a separate design in its own right" (Punch 2014).
Creswell and Zhang (2009) placed the origins of mixed methods research in the 1990s. They described the different views: "Some individuals focus on mixed methods as a 'method' and view the collection, analysis, and integration of quantitative and qualitative data as a clear and concrete way to understand the process. Others view the integration more broadly as combining quantitative and qualitative approaches methodologically across the spectrum of research processes, such as from the philosophical assumptions to the interpretation of the results... Still others highlight the broader philosophical assumptions that provide a foundation for this form of inquiry" (Creswell and Zhang 2009 p613).
The "fundamental principle of mixed methods research" (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004) is to combine the strengths of quantitative and qualitative approaches while compensating for their weaknesses. There is a pragmatism here, where "what works" in getting the research question answered matters more than "methodological purity".
Central, then, is "mixing", which can occur in three ways (Creswell and Zhang 2009):
1. Merging (or side-by-side comparison; Creswell and Clark 2007) - the distinctiveness of quantitative and qualitative data are dissolved;
2. Connecting - data from one approach is used to inform data collection from the other approach;
3. Embedding - data from one approach is embedded in the other approach (eg: a focus group within a clinical trial).
That is not to say that issues do not arise from mixing methods, and Creswell and Clark (2007) provided three dimensions to help:
a) Timing - the order in which the quantitative and qualitative methods are used.
b) Weighting - the relative importance given to quantitative and qualitative methods in answering the research question.
c) Mixing - the exact mixing of the two approaches.
From these dimensions Creswell and Clark (2007) summarised four types of mixed methods designs (Punch 2014):
i) Triangulation design - Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at the same time and with equal weighting in order to give two views on the same research question (eg: structured questionnaire and focused groups).
ii) Embedded (or nested) design - One approach is supportive and secondary to the other (eg: a structured questionnaire that includes open-ended questions at the end).
iii) Sequential Explanatory design - Quantitative data are collected first, and qualitative methods are then used to build on the first set of data (eg: structured questionnaire followed by detailed interviews with volunteers who completed the questionnaire).
iv) Sequential Exploratory design - Qualitative data first in order to give ideas for hypotheses for the subsequent quantitative research (eg: informal interviews first to help in design of subsequent structured questionnaire).
Creswell and Zhang (2009) described trauma research as "well suited for mixed methods research". They gave the example of an exploratory design by Banyard and Williams (2007), which was a seven-year longitudinal study of resilience to trauma of sixty-one female childhood sexual abuse survivors with qualitative interviews with twenty-one of them. The quantitative element involved a standardised checklist of trauma symptoms and analysis of variables (eg: income; adult friendships). Social support was found to be beneficial by both data collection approaches.
REFERENCES
Banyard, V.L & Williams, L.M (2007) Women's voices on recovery: A multi-method study of the complexity of recovery from child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect 31, 275-290
Creswell, J.W & Clark, V.L.P (2007) Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Creswell, J.W & Zhang, W (2009) The application of mixed methods designs to trauma research. Journal of Traumatic Stress 22, 6, 612-621
Creswell, J.W et al (2011) Best Practices for Mixed Methods Research in the Health Sciences. Office of Behavioural and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Johnson, R.B & Onwuegbuzie, A.J (2004) Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher 33, 14-26
Morse, J & Niehaus, L (2009) Mixed Methods Design: Principles and Procedures. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press
Punch, K.F (2014) Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (3rd ed). London: Sage