Mixed-Methods Research
Definition
A study design that plans, from the outset, how quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and integrated so each strand informs the other, rather than reporting two separate studies side by side.
Related terms
- Convergent Design
- A mixed-methods design that collects quantitative and qualitative data in the same timeframe, analyses each strand separately, then merges the two at...
- Explanatory Sequential Design
- A mixed-methods design that collects and analyses quantitative data first, then uses a qualitative follow-up phase to explain a result the numbers...
- Exploratory Sequential Design
- A mixed-methods design that begins with qualitative data collection and uses what it finds to build or refine a quantitative instrument, such...
- Joint Display
- A table that lines up a quantitative result in one column against the related qualitative data in an adjacent column, making the...
- Meta-Inference
- A conclusion drawn only after both the quantitative and qualitative strands of a mixed-methods study have been integrated, rather than a conclusion...
- Triangulation
- Comparing an independent quantitative finding against an independent qualitative finding on the same question to check whether they converge, complement, or diverge.