Educ Rsch Pp11

McMillanEducational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer, 6e© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer

Woolfolk / PerryChild and Adolescent Development © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sixth Edition

McMillanEducational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer, 6e© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mixed-Method Designs

Chapter 11

McMillanEducational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer, 6e© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Mixed-Methods Designs

Designs combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting data

Advantages• Incorporates the strengths of both qualitative and

quantitative approaches• Provides a more comprehensive view of the

phenomena being studied• Does not limit the data being collected• Includes triangulation to enhance credibility of

findings



Disadvantages and limitations• Requires expertise in both methods• May require more extensive data collection

and resources• It is popular to claim the use of mixed

method design even though one method is used superficially



Three types of designs• Sequential Explanatory• Sequential Exploratory• Concurrent Convergent• See Table 11.3 for advantages and

challenges of each design



Sequential Explanatory designs• Quantitative data are collected first with qualitative

data collection following• Use of a questionnaire to provide an overview of

students’ attitudes toward drug testing programs followed by several in-depth interviews of specific students with positive and negative attitudes (i.e., maximum variation sampling) to understand how those attitudes were shaped.



Sequential Exploratory designs• Qualitative data are collected first with quantitative

data collection following• A few interviews with students and a content

analysis of several surveys allowed a researcher to determine the important factors around which an attitudinal scale on drug testing programs was developed. Administration of this survey gave an overall view of students’ attitudes to a specific program being used at a local school.



Concurrent convergent designs• Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at

the same time to provide a more comprehensive and complete set of data

• Triangulation designs are used when researchers use qualitative methods to expand on quantitative findings.

• The use of a scale addressing attitudes toward drug testing programs could be administered to the students in a school. Information from focus groups and interviews could be used to confirm the conclusions drawn from the survey.



Design considerations in mixed-method research• Rationale for a mixed method design• Priority or weighting of each method• Whether the timing of data collection will

be sequential or concurrent• How will the qualitative and quantitative

data be combined or merged



Seven steps to conduct mixed method research• Determine the feasibility of a mixed method design• Determine the rationale for a mixed method design• Determine the design, types of data, and collection

strategies• Determine specific quantitative and qualitative

research questions• Collect data• Analyze data• Write the report



Evaluating a mixed method design• Has the researcher matched the purpose

and questions to appropriate methods?• Has the researcher adhered to the criteria

for quantitative and qualitative criteria?• Are limitations appropriately acknowledged?• How has the researcher integrated the

results?

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Educ Rsch Pp11