Postmodern Openings

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Mixed Method Research: An Overview


Dewan Mahboob HOSSAI N

Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151

The online version of this article can be found at:
http://postmodernopenings.com

Published by:
Lumen Publishing House
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Lumen Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences

13
Mixed Method Research: An Overview
Dewan Mahboob HOSSAIN
1
Abstract
1bi. artice gire. a gevera orerrier of viea vetboa re.earcb. v viea
vetboa, tbe re.earcber. covbive botb qvaitatire ava qvavtitatire aroacbe. iv a
.ivge re.earcb ro;ect. 1be artice fir.t attevt. to aefive viea vetboa re.earcb.
1bev it gire. a covari.ov of qvaitatire ava qvavtitatire aroacbe.. t a.o
ivtroavce. tbe revorv covtrorer., avovg tbe re.earcber.: rbicb of tbe.e aroacbe.
i. .verior. , eaivivg tbi. covtrorer.,, tbe artice iaevtifie. tbe veea for viea
vetboa re.earcb. a.t,, tbe artice ae.cribe. tbe roce.. of viea vetboa re.earcb.
Keywords:
viea vetboa, re.earcb, qvaitatire aroacbe., qvavtitatire aroacbe.
1
Assistant Proessor, Department o Accounting & Inormation Systems, Uniersity o
Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. L-mail address: dewanmahboobunidhaka.edu
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Postmodern Openings
138
Introduction:
1hese days, mixed method research has gained acceptance and
popularity in social sciences. 1his type o research has eoled in
response to the controersies related to the superiority o qualitatie and
quantitatie approaches oer each other. Mixed method research unite
tbeoretica ava,or tecbvica a.ect. of qvavtitatire ava qvaitatire re.earcb ritbiv a
articvar .tva,` ,Rocco et all, 2003:19,. Ater the qualitatie and the
quantitatie approaches, mixed method research is considered as the
third methodological moement ,Borrego, Douglas, Amelink, 2009,
1eddlie, 1ashakkori, 2003,. Both qualitatie and quantitatie approaches
hae their own adantages and limitations. 1here are some adantages o
qualitatie research that cannot be gained by applying quantitatie
approaches. Just like that there are some unique adantages o
quantitatie research that are missing in the qualitatie approaches. In
most cases, similar type o generalization o result is also not possible in
these two methods. Mixed method research stries or combining each
other`s adantages and thus replacing the weakness o one method with
the help o the strength o the other. Moreoer, the indings o one
method can be compared ,and in many cases, substantiated, with the
indings deried rom the application o the other method. 1hus the
acceptability o the research results increases. Some deinitions o mixed
method research can be ound in 1able 1:
1able 1: Deinitions o Mixed Method Research gien by
Dierent Authors
Author,s, Deinition
Creswell et all,
,2003: 212,
A mixed methods study inoles the collection or
analysis o both quantitatie and,or qualitatie data
in a single study in which data are collected
concurrently or sequentially, are gien a priority, and
inole the integration o the data at one or more
stages in the process o research.
Bloor and \ood
,2006:116,: Used
the term multiple
methods
1he combining o dierent methods within the same
study design. 1he purpose o such a combination
may be additie, with dierent methods addressing
dierent sub-topics ,oten sequentially,, or
interactie, with the same sub-topic being
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Mixed Method Research: An Oeriew
Dewan Mahboob IOSSAIN
approached rom dierent angles.
Denscombe
,200: 10,
1he term mixed methods` applies to research that
combines alternatie approaches within a single
research project. It reers to a research strategy that
crosses the boundaries o conentional paradigms o
research by deliberately combining methods drawn
rom dierent traditions within dierent underlying
assumptions. At its simplest, a mixed method
strategy is one that uses both qualitatie and
quantitatie methods.
Rocco et all.
,2003: 19,
Mixed method research is characterized as research
that contains elements o both qualitatie and
quantitatie approaches.
Rocco et al ,2003, mentioned that:
More than 40 years ago, quantitatie researchers Campbell and
liske ,1959, suggested mixing methods to accurately measure a
psychological trait. 1heir call or multiple methods to ensure that the
ariance was relected in the trait and not in the method` ,Creswell, 1994:
14, later expanded into what Denzin ,198, dubbed triangulation``.
Denscombe ,200: 108, identiied three crucial eatures o mixed
method research. lirst, it uses both quantitatie and qualitatie methods
in a single research project. Second, it uses triangulation. 1riangulation
inoles iewing something rom more than one perspectie
,Denscombe, 200,. 1hird, it is problem drien. It ocuses on dierent
philosophical traditions in order to create a practical alue o the
research indings.
As it has a greater ocus in practical problems, oer the years,
mixed method research became ery popular among the researchers o
arious disciplines. 1hese days, many social scientists are applying mixed
research methods in their researches on dierse issues. 1hese diersities
can be noticed rom the ollowing examples:
- Borrego et al ,2009, identiied the need or mixed method
research in evgiveerivg eavcatiov.
- Rocco et al ,2003, discussed on the application o mixed method
research in orgaviatiova .,.tev..
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Postmodern Openings
140
- Risjord, Moloney and Dunbar ,2001, discussed on applying
mixed method in vvr.ivg re.earcb.
- Gioia ,2004, applied mixed research method in inding out tbe
veavivg of ror for ,ovvg aavt. ritb .cbiobrevia. She applied in-
depth interiews and scaled measure in her study.
- Creswell, letters and Iankoa ,2004, designed mixed method
research or the study in rivar, care.
- Johnstone ,2004, applied mixed methodology in beatb .errice.
re.earcb.
- 1ashakkori and 1eddlie ,2006, wrote about the applicability o
mixed method research in .ocia ava bebariora .cievce..
- loss and Lllesen ,2002, applied mixed methods in vvr.ivg
re.earcb.
lrom these examples it becomes clear that mixed method
research can be applied to dierent disciplines like social and behaioral
sciences, health care, education, psychology, nursing and others. Oer
the years, the importance o this method is increasing in the dierent
ields o knowledge. Denscombe ,200: 116, commented that:
Covrevtiova,, .ocia re.earcb ba. foorea ove of tro broaa
atb. rbev it cove. tbe .t,e ava vatvre of ivre.tigatiov. itber tbe
re.earcb ba. .et ovt to te.t b,otbe.e. ava cbec reaictiov. ba.ea ov
tbeorie. b, covavctivg covfirvator, ivre.tigatiov.`. Or, it ba. aivea to
ai.corer tbivg. b, evgagivg iv eorator, ivre.tigatiov.` rbicb are vot
ba.ea ov av, firv b,otbe.i. at tbe begivvivg. Miea voae re.earcb
ae.igv. brea tbe vova b, ivcororativg botb iva. of aroacbe.
ritbiv tbe .ave ro;ect.
1he main objectie o this article is to proide with a general
oeriew o the mixed method research. In the next section, the article
gies a comparison o qualitatie and quantitatie approaches and
discusses on the well-known controersy related to the superiority o
qualitatie and quantitatie research. Lastly, the article ocuses on the
process and the applicability o mixed method research.
1he article is absolutely based on the seeral published aailable
literature like books, journal articles and discussion papers on mixed
method research. 1he article can be treated as a general reading on
mixed method research.
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Mixed Method Research: An Oeriew
Dewan Mahboob IOSSAIN
Qualitative or Quantitative Approaches?: The Paradigm
War:
In general, research can be done rom two approaches: the
quantitatie approach and the qualitatie approach. Among these two,
quantitatie research has a relatiely longer history ,Iossain, 2011,.
According to Caana, Delahaye and Sekaran ,2000,, by and large, the
positiists ocus more on the quantitatie research approaches and the
qualitatie methods are mainly used in the interpretiist paradigm.
1he positiist paradigm relies on using precise, objectie
measures through the use o quantitatie data and this paradigm assumes
that there is a set o uniersal laws that can be discoered ,Caana,
Delahaye, Sekaran, 2000,. Generally, in positiist paradigm, the
researchers apply deductie reasoning and hypothesis testing
,Puenesary et all, 2008: 1,. Grix ,2004, identiied three basic phases o
a quantitatie research and they are ,Puenesary et all, 2008: 1,:
- linding ariables or concepts,
- Operationalizing them in the study, and,
- Measuring them.
But the interpretiists beliee that as eery human being does not
ace and experience the social and the physical realities in the same way,
it is more important to identiy how people think, react and eel under
dierent contexts ,Caana, Delahaye, Sekaran, 2000,. Puenesary et all.
,2008: 2, mentioned that qualitatie research mainly ocuses on in-depth
inquiry o a relatiely small group o respondents and ollows inductie
strategy or theory generation.
Neuman ,2000: 122, dierentiated between the qualitatie and
the quantitatie approaches as ollows:
Qvavtitatire re.earcber. are vore covcervea abovt i..ve. of
ae.igv, vea.vrevevt ava, .avivg becav.e tbeir aeavctire aroacb
evba.ie. aetaiea avvivg rior to aata coectiov ava ava,.i..
Qvaitatire re.earcber. are vore covcervea abovt i..ve. of tbe ricbve..,
tetvre ava feeivg of rar aata becav.e tbeir ivavctire aroacb
evba.ie. aereoivg iv.igbt. ava geveraiatiov. ovt of tbe aata
coectea.
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Postmodern Openings
142
1he common methods that are used in quantitatie researches
inole questionnaire, structured interiew, structured obseration and
content analysis ,Puenesary et all., 2008: 2,. 1he object o analysis is
ariable. In analyzing the data, quantitatie researchers mainly depend on
mathematical and statistical tools ,Corbetta, 2003: 42,. Corbetta
mentioned that:
v av, ca.e, qvavtitatire re.earcb ara,. .trire. to roavce
bara aata; for iv.tavce, to a..e.. attitvae torara. .ove oitica
er.ovait,, re.ovaevt. vigbt be a.ea to gire tbe er.ov a .core frov 1
to 100.
\hereas, the qualitatie researchers generally use interiew, ocus
group, obseration, oral history, ethnography, archial or document
analysis ,Puenesary et all., 2008: 2,. 1he qualitatie researchers apply a
completely dierent method in comparison to the quantitatie
researchers and or them the object o analysis is indiidual rather than
ariable ,Corbetta, 2003: 44,. Corbetta ,2003:42, mentioned:
Data roavcea b, qvaitatire re.earcb are tervea .oft, a.
oo.ea to bara aata vevtiovea earier. 1bv. to retvrv to ovr reriov.
eave, a oiticiav`. ovarit, va, be a..e..ea b, recoraivg tbe
rariov. oiviov. ere..ea b, tbe re.ovaevt.; accoraivg to tbe oivt of
rier, cvtvre, ra, of tbivivg, aetb of ava,.i. ava voae of ere..iov
of eacb ivairiava, ;vagvevt va, rvv frov .ive ava .ober to cove
ava coorfv.
1he issue o whether one should use qualitatie approach or
quantitatie approach in a research has been an issue o debate among
the researchers or long. 1his debate is termed as the Paraaigv !ar
,1ashakkori, 1eddlie, 2006,. It is because both o these approaches hae
their own adantages and disadantages. Qualitatie researchers ind
qualitatie research more useul as it is more intensie and thus it can
really probe into the problem. 1he disadantage o qualitatie research is
that it cannot deal with a lot o ariable and data. Quantitatie research is
ariable based but qualitatie research is case based ,Corbetta, 2003: 44,.
Quantitatie researchers ind quantitatie research as more useul
because it can deal with a large amount o data and as these are hard
data, mathematical and statistical tools can be applied to analyze them.
Castellan ,2010: 11-12, mentioned that though quantitatie research can
result in the clariication o a cause and eect relationship, it is unable to
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Mixed Method Research: An Oeriew
Dewan Mahboob IOSSAIN
iner meaning beyond the results achieed through statistical analysis. On
the other hand, though through qualitatie research, a better
understanding can be gained, a cause and eect relationship cannot be
saely generalized ,Castellan, 2010: 12,. According to Bryman ,1984: 8,:
Qvaitatire re.earcb i. aeevea to be vvcb vore fvia ava
feibe tbav qvavtitatire re.earcb iv tbat it evba.ie. ai.corerivg vore
or vvavticiatea fivaivg. ava tbe o..ibiit, of aterivg re.earcb av. iv
re.ov.e to .vcb .erevaiitov. occvrrevce. 1bi. i. covtra.tea .bar, ritb
tbe qvavtitatire vetboaoogi.t. re.earcb ae.igv ritb it. evba.i. vov
fiea vea.vrevevt., b,otbe.i. ;or bvvcb) te.tivg, ava a vvcb e..
rotractea forv of fiearor ivrorevevt.
1he use o quantitatie method is ery common in case o
natural sciences. In case o social sciences, this method is used in
disciplines like economics and psychology. Quantitatie methods are also
ery popular in business research. Qualitatie research is more popular in
social sciences like sociology and anthropology ,though many researchers
in these disciplines also use quantitatie research,. It is said that the
use o qualitatie and quantitatie research depends on the situation and
the research question.
The Need for Mixed Method Research:
It is said that the base o mixed method research is the concept
o ragvati.v. In many cases it is said that pragmatism is the
philosophical partner o mixed method ,Denscombe, 200: 116,.
Pragmatism inoles the ollowing core ideas ,Denscombe, 200: 11,:
- 1he success o knowledge depends on its implication in soling
the practical problems.
- A single scientiic method cannot be treated as the best in order
to reach an indisputable knowledge.
- Knowledge can neer be absolute or perect.
1hough the debate related to the superiority o the two methods
,qualitatie and quantitatie, continued or long, there was no doubt
about the act that both o these approaches hae their own unique
adantages. And i these adantages are combined, the disadantages can
be remoed. 1hat is why, these days, a dierent iew is getting
popularity:
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Postmodern Openings
144
...re vv.t vot igvore tbe aifferevt a..vvtiov. of qvaitatire
ava qvavtitatire re.earcb aroacbe. ava tbat iv fact, re vv.t carefv,
cov.iaer bor tbeir airergevce. are recovciea. ;Car, 2000: ).
Up to 1950s, researchers in dierent disciplined generally
belieed in monomethod ,this period is regarded as the vri.t` era, and
mixed method emerged mainly ater 1950s ,1ashakkori, 1eddlie, 2006,.
1his new tradition got a huge boost in the 1990s. Now, the researchers
are trying to utilize the adantages o both the methods ,qualitatie and
quantitatie, with the help o mixed method research. In applying a
mixed method, the researcher actually wants to combine the quantitatie
and the qualitatie approaches in one research. Barbour ,1998,
commented that by combining qualitatie and quantitatie methods,
dierent approaches can be applied at the dierent stages o a project.
In many cases, the researcher can irst identiy releant ariables through
qualitatie applying qualitatie method and then apply quantitatie
approach on those ariables. Moreoer, i a researcher can derie similar
indings rom both the quantitatie and qualitatie approaches in the
same research, the research indings get greater acceptability and greater
generalization becomes possible. Denscombe ,200, mentioned that
researchers use mixed method research or any o the ollowing reasons:
- Improed Accuracy: Researcher`s conidence on the indings o
the research increases when indings he,she can check the
indings o one method with that o another. According to
Greene et al ,1989: 259, mixed method research .ee. covrergevce,
corroboratiov, corre.ovaevce of re.vt. frov aifferevt vetboa.`.
- A More Complete Picture: A mixed method can gie a better and
uller picture o the issue under the study. Data collected rom
dierent methods can be complementary to each other.
- Compensating Strengths and \eaknesses: Lery method has its
own strengths and weaknesses. 1he weaknesses o one method
can be compensated by applying another method that does not
suer rom that particular weakness.
- Deeloping the Analysis: An additional method can be used to
produce urther data and it can gie a better and uller picture o
the issue under study.
- An Aid to Sampling: 1he inormation generated rom one
method can be used as the basis o selecting samples or another
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Mixed Method Research: An Oeriew
Dewan Mahboob IOSSAIN
method. Denscombe ,200: 113, gies an example on this issue:
ovetive. tbi. ivrore. tbe v.e of a qvavtitatire iot .tva, to roriae
bacgrovva ivforvatiov tbat re.earcber. v.e to gviae tbeir .eectiov of tbe
ivairiava. rbo ri articiate iv .vb.eqvevt qvaitatire re.earcb ivrorivg
tbivg. ie focv. grov. ava ivterrier.`.
The Process of Mixed Method Research:
Dierent researchers ollow dierent strategies in applying
mixed methods. 1he basic issue is to combine the quantitatie and the
qualitatie approaches in one research project. 1he strategy that is
applied here is called triavgvatiov. According to Creswell and Miller
,2000: 126, triangulation is a raiait, roceavre rbere re.earcber. .earcb for
covrergevce avovg vvtie ava aifferevt .ovrce. of ivforvatiov to forv tbeve. or
categorie. iv a .tva,`. Bryman ,1988: 131, mentioned that the social
scientists hope to achiee a higher leel o conidence in their research
indings when they are deried rom more than one method o
inestigation. Generally, in mixed method research, the researchers go
or a method triangulation. According to Patton ,1990: 465, method
triangulation means:
Covarivg aata coectea tbrovgb .ove iva of qvaitatire
vetboa. ritb aata coectea tbrovgb .ove iva of qvavtitatire vetboa..
Denscombe ,200: 114, identiied three kinds o mixed method
research designs: sequential studies, simultaneous studies and multileel
studies. 1ashakkori and 1eddlie ,2006, also classiied these strategies as
ollows ,igure 1,:
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Postmodern Openings
146
ligure 1: Strategies o Mixed Method ,Prepared rom 1ashakkori
and 1eddlie ,2006,,
1hese are described as ollows:
- Lquivalent Status Design: In this strategy, both qualitatie and
quantitatie approaches get the same importance or equialent
status. 1his can be done .eqvevtia,. 1hat means, the researcher
can irst go or doing a quantitatie ,QUAN, study and then a
qualitatie ,QUAL, study ,symbolically represented as
QUAN,QUAL,. Or the researcher can irst go or a qualitatie
study and then a quantitatie study ,symbolically represented as
QUAL,QUAN,. Lquialent status design can also ollow a
arae or .ivvtaveov. strategy. It means both qualitatie and
quantitatie researches can be done at the same time in a
simultaneous way ,symbolically represented as
QUAL-QUAN1` or QUAN1-QUAL`,.
- Dominant-Less Dominant Designs: In this strategy either the
qualitatie or the quantitatie approach gets more importance.
Like equialent status designs it can also be done either through
paralleling or sequencing. Sequenced dominant-less dominant
designs are symbolically expressed either as QUAL,quan ,where
the qualitatie approach gets more importance than the
quantitatie, or QUAN,qual ,where the quantitatie approaches
get more importance than the qualitatie,. In a parallel strategy
these designs can take either a QUAL-quan orm ,where
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Mixed Method Research: An Oeriew
Dewan Mahboob IOSSAIN
qualitatie approach gets more importance than the quantitatie,
or a QUAN-qual orm ,where quantitatie approaches get more
importance than qualitatie,.
- Multilevel Use of Approaches: 1his represents the use o
dierent approaches in dierent leels ,like micro leel and
macro leel,. Denscombe ,200: 114, gies an example o
multileel use o approaches: .a vvtiere ae.igv`, for eave,
va, v.e a Q|. aroacb to tbe .tva, of ivairiava vi. iv a ca..roov
;e.g. tbeir feeivg. ava eerievce. iv reatiov to boveror), v.e a Q|.^
aroacb to ivre.tigate featvre. of rboe ca..e. ;e.g., trvavc, rate. ava eav
a.. rate.), ava covevevt tbo.e ritb a Q|. aroacb ooivg at tbe
bi.tor, ava evrirovvevt of tbe .cboo ;e.g. reort. b, .cboo iv.ector., oca
ver.aer artice.) `. 1hese multileel designs also can be both
simultaneous and sequential.
All these three strategies are practiced by the researchers in
dierent ields o knowledge.
The Problems Related to Combining Methods:
1hough mixed method research is getting increasing popularity
oer the years, it is not ree o criticisms. Many writers eel that the
mixed method research is not easible or desirable ,Bryman, 2008: 604,.
1hey beliee that the epistemological and ontological commitments o
qualitatie and quantitatie researches are completely dierent ,Bryman,
2008: 604,:
.v etbvograber va, coect qve.tiovvaire aata to gaiv
ivforvatiov abovt a .ice of .ocia ife tbat i. vot avevabe to articiavt
ob.erratiov, bvt tbi. aoe. vot rere.evt av ivtegratiov of qvavtitatire
ava qvaitatire re.earcb, becav.e tbe ei.tevoogica o.itiov. iv rbicb
tbe tro vetboa. are grovvaea cov.titvte irrecovciabe rier. abovt bor
.ocia reait, .bova be .tvaiea.
Blaikie ,1991, argues that the roots o positiist ontology and
interpretiist ontology are not the same. On one hand, the positiists
think that the measures used in the researches are unbiased. On the
other hand, the interpretiists deal with how reality is iewed. As a result,
it can be said that, the indings o these two methods cannot be
combined. 1he QUAL,QUAN1 combination in a mixed research is
actually an oersimpliied approach ,Denscombe, 200: 119,.
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Postmodern Openings
148
Moreoer, Bazeley ,2002, commented that gooa viea vetboa.
re.earcb reqvire. a gooa rorivg voreage of tbe vvtie vetboa. beivg v.ea, tbeir
a..vvtiov., ava,.i. roceavre. ava too., ava av abiit, to vvaer.tava ava ivterret
re.vt. aerirea frov tbo.e aifferevt vetboa.`. Researchers may not hae the
expertise to deal with quantitatie and qualitatie methods together.
Moreoer, the readers o the researches may also not hae enough idea
about both o these approaches.
\riting up o the mixed method research can be problematic.
1he literature related to dierent strategies o writing up o mixed
method researches is not enough. As a result, new researchers ace
problems in their write-ups.
1here is no doubt that mixed method researches are expensie
and in many cases, time consuming. Mixed method research needs to be
well-unded. According to Denscombe ,200: 119,:
1be covbivatiov of ba.e. cav eteva tbe tivefrave for
re.earcb ae.igv ava aata coectiov.
Moreoer, in some cases, the indings generated rom the
quantitatie method may appear to be contradictory with that o the
qualitatie method. It may create problems in drawing satisactory
conclusion o the research. Denscombe ,200: 120, commented that:
1be viea vetboa aroacb, to a arge aegree, oerate. ov tbe
a..vvtiov tbat fivaivg. ri coivciae ava tbi. ri be a o.itire
covtribvtiov to tbe re.earcb ro;ect. f tbe fivaivg. ao vot coivciae,
borerer, tbe re.earcber cav be facea ritb a robev.
Lspecially in case o PhD or any other kind o dissertation
research, where time acts as a constraint, mixed method research may
appear to be problematic.
Conclusion:
1he main objectie o this article was to gie a general idea about
mixed method research based on the seeral published aailable
literature. lrom the discussions it can be summarized that ater the
qualitatie and the quantitatie approaches, mixed method research is
considered as the third methodological moement. In this approach, the
researchers mainly strie or combining both quantitatie and qualitatie
approaches in a single research project. 1he reason behind this is that
both o these approaches hae their own adantages and limitations. I
these approaches are combined, the adantages o both o these
HOSSAIN, D. M. (2012). Mixed Method Research: An Overview.
Postmodern Openings, 2012, Volume 3, Issue 4, December, pp: 137-151
Mixed Method Research: An Oeriew
Dewan Mahboob IOSSAIN
approaches may complement each other and help in oercoming the
limitations o using only one method. Moreoer, i the indings o these
two approaches are similar, it enhances the acceptability o the research.
1hough these days mixed method research is getting popularity in the
researches o dierent ields o knowledge, this method also has some
limitations. Lack o expertise in doing this kind o research may result in
substandard research. 1his kind o research also demands ample time
and money. \rite-up o this kind o research also demands a dierent
ormat and skill. So, proper planning is needed in order to do an
acceptable research o this kind.
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