MIXED METHOD

APPROACH
by
Prof. Philip AE Serumaga-Zake
UNISA SBL
March 23, 2010
Refers to research that:
•focus on phenomena that occur in natural settings – real world
•involve studying those phenomena in all their complexities (Leedy and Ormrod,
2010).
Qualitative researchers normally try to portray issues in their multifaceted
forms.
•Often formulate general research problems or ask general questions at the
beginning and so, cannot know the right methods to use, but with time, as they
come to learn more and more about the phenomenon, they tend to ask specific
questions, formulate specific hypotheses and know better specific methods to
apply.
•Qualitative researchers must be well trained in observation and interviewing
strategies, with a firm grasp of previous research
QUALITATIVE APPROACH
•With qualitative research, there is no quick and easy answers like ‘yes’, ‘no’
answers.
What is Qualitative Research?
•Often uses multiple forms of data
•Takes a great deal of time
•The researcher should record any potentially useful data thoroughly,
accurately and systematically, using field notes, audiotapes, sketches,
photographs, etc.
•Often researchers use non-random purposive samples – for which key
informants give most of the information being sought.
•Normally small non-random samples are used
•The researcher/interviewer is an integral part of the investigation
•It is subjective but the truth is being sought
•It is holistic and contextual
•Normally in-depth interviewing and observation are used to collect data
•Uses inductive rather than deductive process to derive themes or patterns
•Thematic categorization of data, narrative description and content analysis
including coding are used in data analysis and reporting the study results
Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of
human behaviour and the reasons for such behaviour.
Qualitative research aim to describe systematically observations of social
behaviour with no preconceived hypotheses to be tested (Rubin & Babbie,
1993).
•Hypotheses emerge from the observation and interpretation of human
behaviour, leading to further observations and the generation of new
hypotheses for exploration.
•The interviewer is an integral part of the investigation – making the
research subjective.
•Qualitative research uses detailed descriptions from the perspective of the research
participants themselves as a means of examining specific issues and problems
under study.
•Qualitative approaches have the advantages of flexibility, in-depth analysis,
and the potential to observe a variety of aspects of a social situation
(Babbie, 1986).
•By developing and using questions on the spot in (a face-to-face interview),
a qualitative researcher can gain a more in-depth understanding of the
respondent's beliefs, attitudes, or situation.
•During the interview, observational data can be of particular value when a
respondent's body language runs counter to the verbal response given to
an interview question.
Gilgun (1990) suggested these steps of doing a qualitative research:

1.  Identification of the area under investigation

2.  Literature review - Drawing on the theoretical and research literature, such
questions may be formulated and organized in advance to address a specific
research topic.

3.  Selection of variables or parameters of study

4.  Collection of data
5.  Comparison of patterns of first case with those of second case
6.  Development of working hypothesis as common patterns emerge across
interviews
7.  Formulation of additional questions and modification of questions, based
on analysis
8.  Continuation of theoretical sampling
9.  Review of relevant literature when patterns appear to stabilize
10.Linking of relevant literature to the empirically grounded hypotheses
11.Testing of theoretical formulations derived from preceding step
12.Revision of theoretical formulations as needed to fit empirical patterns in
each subsequent step.
The process ends when the researcher reaches “theoretical saturation,”
the point at which no new data are emerging (see also Glaser & Strauss,
1967). Through this procedure emerging theories are grounded in data and
are linked to other theories and research (Gilgun, 1992).

Advantages of qualitative research

 Produces more in-depth, comprehensive information.

 Uses subjective information and participant
observation to describe the context, or natural
setting, of the variables under consideration, as well
as the interactions of the different variables in the
context.
 It seeks a wide and deep understanding of the entire
situation.
Disadvantages of qualitative research
 The very subjectivity of the inquiry leads to difficulties in establishing the
reliability and validity of the approaches and information.
 It is very difficult to prevent or detect researcher induced bias.
 Its scope is limited due to the in-depth, comprehensive data gathering
approaches required.
Methods of Data Collection
Methods include interviews and focus group discussions, observation
(Participant Observation, Non-participant Observation), field notes, various
texts, pictures, and other materials.
Structured interviews
Limited time and financial resources may lead some qualitative researchers
to pursue other data collection techniques, such as a structured interview
schedule with open-ended questions.
Qualitative Research Designs (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005)
•Case study
•Ethnography
•Phenomenological study
•Grounded theory study
•Content analysis
•We dig deep to get a complete understanding of the phenomenon.
•We collect different forms of data and examine them from various angles
to construct a rich and meaningful picture of a complex, multifaceted
situation - triangulation.
Note: There are several different research designs to use but they:
• all focus on a phenomenon in its natural setting in the real world.
•involve studying the phenomenon in all its complexity in a multifaceted
and all its dimensions.
The researcher must keep his/her perceptions, impressions and biases to
him/herself. What matters is to get the truth.

In the academic social sciences the most frequently used qualitative

research approaches include the following:
Ethnographic Research, used for investigating cultures by collecting and
describing data that is intended to help in the development of a theory.
Grounded Theory, an inductive type of research, based or “grounded” in
the observations or data from which it was developed; it uses a variety of
data sources, including quantitative data, review of records, interviews,
observation and surveys.
Phenomenological Research, describes the “subjective reality” of an
event, as perceived by the study population; it is the study of a
phenomenon.
Data analysis
•Interview questions and responses are typically tape-recorded and then
transcribed verbatim before analysis is begun.

•Qualitative researchers often categorize data into patterns as the

primary basis for organizing and reporting results.

•Narrative descriptions of data collected through interviews, observations,

and case records are also used in qualitative analysis.
•Content analysis is often used in qualitative and quantitative research
methods.
When to use qualitative approach?
Purposes:
•Description of situations, settings, processes, relationships or people
•Interpretation – enables researchers:
oTo gain new insights about a particular phenomenon
oDevelop new concepts or theoretical perspectives about a phenomenon, or
oDiscover the problems that occur within the phenomenon
•Verification – to test the validity of certain assumptions, claims, theories or
generalizations within real-world.
•Evaluation – provides means through which a researcher can assess the
effectiveness of a policy, programme, practice or innovation
Note: Qualitative research cannot address cause-and-effect relationships or
questions like, ‘why did such and such happen?’ You need quantitative research,
especially experiments.
1. A case study
- A particular individual programme or event is studied in depth for a specified
period of time
e.g., a medical researcher – studying the nature and treatment of a rare illness for a
particular patient or strategies a teacher uses to teach his/her school children
- can be generalized to similar situations or environments
- sometimes researchers study 2 or more cases for comparison, build a theory or
generalizations
- may be suitable for learning more about a little known or poorly understood
situations or investigating how an individual or programme changes over time
- case studies can be useful to generate or provide preliminary support for
hypotheses
Note: The problem is – generalization is not easy

Qualitative Research Designs

Method
•Researcher collects extensive data on individual(s), programme(s) or event(s).
•Collects also details about the context surrounding the cases including information
about physical environment and any historical, economic and social factors that
have a bearing on the situation
•This helps other researchers to judge whether the findings can be generalized to
other similar situations
2. Ethnography
•The researcher looks at an entire group – more specifically, a group that shares
a common culture – depth.
•Studies it in its natural setting for a lengthy time period, often several months or
years
•The focus of the investigation is on the everyday behaviours of the people in the
group (interactions, language and rituals with intent of identifying cultural norms,
belief, social structures, and other cultural patterns.
•Useful for gaining an understanding of the complexities of a particular intact
sociocultural group.
•Allows considerable flexibility in the choice of method to obtain the necessary
information about the group.
Method
•Site-based fieldwork
•Prolonged engagement in the group’s natural setting
•The researcher observe and record processes
•First step is to gain access to the site
•The research must often go thru a gatekeeper, e.g., tribal chief, a principal
•After gaining entry into the site, the researcher must establish rapport with and gain
trust of the people being studied
•Researcher must be open about why he/she is there. This is ethical.
•Informed consent is important
•A big net approach, intermingling with everyone and getting overall sense of the
social and cultural context
•It requires considerable patience and tolerance
•Gradually, the researcher identifies key informants who can provide the necessary
information and insights relevant to the research question and can facilitate contacts
with other helpful individuals
•Sometimes the researcher engages in participant observation, becoming immersed
in the daily life of the people.
•Throughout the fieldwork, the researcher must be a careful observer, interviewer
and listener
• Lengthy conversations and significant events can be recorded using audiotapes and
videotapes.
•The researcher may also collect artifacts (e.g., tools, ritualistic implements, artistic
creations) and records (e.g., accounting ledgers, personal journals, etc) from the
group.
3. Phenomenological study
•Phenomenology refers to a person’s perception of the meaning of an event, as
opposed to the event as it exists external to the person.
•It is a study that attempts to understand people’s perceptions, perspectives, and
understandings of a particular situation.
•E.g., a researcher might study the experiences of people caring for a dying relative,
living in abusive relationship, etc
•Sometimes the researcher wants to gain a better understanding of the experience
related to a phenomenon. By looking at multiple perspectives on the same
situation, the researcher can make some generalizations.
Method
•Depends almost exclusively on lengthy interviews (say, 1 to 2 hours) with a
carefully selected sample of participants. Say, 5 to 25 individuals, all of whom
have had direct experience with the phenomenon being studied (Creswell, 1998).
•Often a very unstructured interviews
•The researcher listens closely as participants describe their everyday experiences
•A typical interview looks more like informal conversation, with the participant
doing most of the talking and the researcher doing most of the listening.
Grounded theory study
•Least likely to begin from a particular theoretical framework.
•Main purpose is to begin with the data and use them to develop a theory
•The study uses a prescribed set of procedures for analysing data and
constructing a theoretical model from them
•Typically, the study focuses on a process (including people’s actions and
interactions) related to a particular topic, with the ultimate goal of developing a
theory about that process (Creswell, 2008).
•E.g., to study children’s eating habits, college students’ thoughts and feelings
during classroom discussions, and workers’ stress levels in public service agencies.
Method
•Data collection is field-based, flexible, and likely to change over the course of the
study.
•Interviews typically play a major role in data collection, but observations,
documents, historical records, videotapes, and anything else of potential relevance to
the research question may also be used.
•Like in the case of the other designs, data analysis begins almost immediately – the
researcher develops categories to classify the data.
•Subsequent data collection is aimed at saturating the categories – in essence,
learning as much about them as possible – and at finding any disconfirming
evidence that may suggest revisions in the categories identified or interrelationships
among them.
•The process of moving back and forth between data collection and data analysis,
with data analysis driving later data collection, is sometimes called the constant
comparative method.
•The theory that ultimately evolves is one that includes numerous concepts and
interrelationships among those concepts
•Content analysis
•A detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a particular material
for the purpose of identifying patterns, themes or biases.
•Typically performed on forms of communication, including books, newspaper,
films, television, art, music, videotapes, transcripts of conversations, etc.
•The researcher defines a specific research problem or question at the very
beginning.
•E.g. Do contemporary television commercials reflect traditional gender
stereotypes?

Method
•Identify the specific body of material to be studied
•Define the characteristics or qualities to be examined in precise concrete terms
•Etc
When to choose a qualitative method
Qualitative research serves the following purposes:
•Descriptive – reveal nature of certain situations, settings, processes,
relationships, system or people.
•Interpretation – to gain new insights about a phenomenon, develop new
concepts and theoretical perspectives, etc and discover the problem that
exists within the phenomenon.
•Verification – it allows the researcher to test the validity of certain
assumptions, claims, theories or generalizations within the real world
•Evaluation – a means through which a researcher can assess the
effectiveness of a particular policy, programme, practice or innovation. For
e.g., understanding how and why programme outcomes are not achieved.
Programme evaluation studies involving the qualitative approach focus on
participants' perceptions and their experiences in the programme (Bogdan &
Taylor, 1990; Patton, 1990; Rubin & Babbie, 1993).
•Tries to paint a picture of a given situation by addressing questions: who,
what, when, where and how. For e.g., an economic or employment situation
in SA
Note:
•Qualitative studies normally take long time periods, e.g. months and years
•They do not normally give quick and easy answers to research questions
•Qualitative studies are subjective and it is difficult for other researchers to
repeat the studies, let alone to evaluate the studies in terms of the researcher
biases.
•Unlike for a quantitative study, in the case of a qualitative research, the
researcher is the data collection instrument
•Purposive sampling based on previous research is normally used
•Qualitative approach is weak at investigating relationships between
phenomena and predicting phenomena
•Generalizations tend to be impossible because they normally use
nonrandom and small sample sizes
•Uses mathematics and statistical methods to study phenomena.
•Often used to study relationships between variables or phenomena and to
predict
•Uses statistical methods to test hypotheses
•It is more objective than the qualitative approach
•It’s designs are mostly:
•Experiments, and
•Research surveys.
•Quantitative studies normally use large sample sizes, randomly
selected subjects and representative samples
•Randomization of any experimental groups is essential, and a
control group should be included, wherever possible.
•A sound quantitative design should only manipulate one variable at a time,
or statistical analysis becomes difficult and open to question.
•Ideally, the research should be constructed in a manner that allows other
QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
researchers to repeat the experiment or study and obtain similar results.
Advantages
•Using a quantitative research design is an excellent way of finalizing results
and proving or disproving a hypothesis.
•The structure is standard across many scientific fields and disciplines.
•After a statistical analysis of the data, a comprehensive answer is reached,
and the results can be legitimately discussed and published.
•Quantitative studies try to filter out external factors (if properly designed), and
so the results gained can be seen as real and unbiased.
•Scientific experiments are useful for testing the data gained by a series of
qualitative experiments, leading to a final answer, and a narrowing down of
possible directions for follow up research to take.
Disadvantages
•Quantitative studies must be carefully planned to ensure that there is
complete randomization and correct designation of control groups.
Quantitative studies usually require extensive statistical analysis.
•Experiment
•regarded as the most accurate and unequivocal standard for
testing a hypothesis.
•generates good statistical data.
•manipulates one or more variables to generate analyzable data.
•should be designed with later statistical tests in mind, by making sure that
the experiment has controls and a large enough sample group to provide
statistically valid results.
•Every true experimental design must have a hypothesis to test as the
ultimate aim of any experiment.
•The precursor to a hypothesis is a research problem, usually framed as a
question. It might ask what, or why something is happening.
•Experiments are sometimes referred to as ‘true science’. They use
traditional mathematical and statistical means to measure and analyse data
conclusively.
The Basics
•With most true experiments, the researcher is trying to establish a
causal relationship between variables, by manipulating an
independent variable to assess its effect upon dependent variables.
•Random groups are the best way of ensuring that the groups are as
identical as possible.
The basis of conducting an experiment
With an experiment, the researcher is trying to learn something new about
the world, an explanation of ‘why’ something happens.
This method of study is especially useful for trying to test theoretical
models by using them in real world situations.
Interpretation
The observations are often referred to as 'empirical evidence' and the
logic/thinking leads to the conclusions.
2. Survey Research Design
A Survey
Five preliminary steps that should be taken when embarking on a research project
can be identified. They are:
•choose a topic
•review the literature
•determine the research question or objectives
•develop a hypothesis, and
•operationalise, that is, find the suitable research methodology and use it to
implement the research plan to answer the research question or to achieve pre-
determined objectives of the study.
•Two additional considerations that are very crucial, namely:
•designing a representative sample – randomly selected, and
•a questionnaire to be used to collect data.
•By a representative sample, we mean an accurate proportional representation
of the population under study.
•In this sample, every characteristic in the population should be well or fairly
represented.
•In other words, to obtain reliable results on the characteristics of interest of the
population, a sample, through the process of randomization should in all relevant
respects be a true image or reflection of the target population.
The survey research design is often used because of the low cost and
easy accessible information.

•Before you start the planning, it is important that you consult a

statistician about the survey research design.
•This helps you to know the right sample size and obtain a
representative sample to make it a valid survey and prevent inaccurate
results.
Types of surveys
•There are two basic types of surveys: cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal
surveys.
•Cross-sectional surveys are used to gather data on a population at one point in
time.
•An example of a cross –sectional survey is using a questionnaire to collect data
on annual household expenditure in a country at a given time of the year.
•Longitudinal surveys gather data over a period of time.
•The researcher may then analyse the data to study changes in the population
and attempt to explain them.
•The three main longitudinal surveys are trend studies, cohort studies and
panel studies.
•Longitudinal Study
•A longitudinal study is observational research performed over a period
of years or even decades, and allows social scientists and economists to
study long-term effects in a human population.
•A cohort study is a subset of the longitudinal study because it observes
the effect of a factor or variable on a specific group of people over time.
•There are two main sub-types of cohort study, the retrospective and the
prospective cohort study.
•The major difference: retrospective looks at phenomena that have
already happened, whilst the prospective type starts from the present.
Trend studies focus on a particular population, which is sampled and
scrutinized repeatedly.
An example of a trend study is an annual survey of the average hourly earnings
of workers in the manufacturing industry in South Africa over a long period of
time.
•A trend line is then fitted to the data.
•While samples are of the same population, they are typically not composed of
the same people.
•Several data from several studies of the same population (not necessarily done
by the same researcher) may be combined to investigate the trend of the
characteristic (or variable) of interest.
Cohort studies also focus on a particular population sampled and studied more
than once.
For example, a sample of the 2010 first-year students at the SBL could be
questioned regarding their attitude toward the library staff.
•Two years later, the researcher could question another sample of the same 2010
first-year students and study any changes in attitude.
Note: If after the two years, the 2012 first-year students were studied, the study
would be a trend study instead.
Retrospective Cohort Study
The retrospective case study is historical in nature. The researcher looks
at historical data to judge the effects of the variable.
•It is a lot easier than the prospective, but there is no control, and
confounding variables can be a problem, as the researcher cannot easily
assess the lifestyle of the subject.
•A retrospective study is a very cheap and effective way of studying
health risks or the effects of exposure to pollutants and toxins.
•It gives results quickly, at the cost of validity, because it is impossible to
eliminate all of the potentially confounding variables from historical
records and interviews alone.
Note: Secondary data can be used here
Prospective Cohort Study
In a prospective cohort study, the effects of a certain variable are plotted
over time, and the study becomes an ongoing process.
•To maintain validity, all of the subjects must be initially free of the
condition tested for.
Ambidirectional Cohort Study
•The ambidirectional cohort study is the ultimate method, combining
retrospective and prospective aspects.
•The researcher studies and analyzes the previous history of the cohorts
and then continues the research in a prospective manner.
This gives the most accurate results, but is an extremely difficult
undertaking, costing time and a great deal of money.
•The ambidirectional study shares one major drawback with the
prospective study, in that it is impossible to guarantee that any data can
be followed up, as participants may decline to participate or die
prematurely.
•These studies need to look at very large samples to ensure that any
attributional losses can be absorbed by the statistics
Panel studies allow the researcher to find out why changes in the population
are occurring since they use the same sample of people every time.
•That sample is referred to as a panel.
•A researcher could for example, select a sample of the SBL students and asks
them questions on their future work expectations.
•Every year thereafter, the researcher would contact the same people and ask
them similar questions and ask them the reasons for any changes in their
expectations.
•Panel studies suffer from attrition, that is, people drop out of the study for
various reasons, for example, moving away from the area of study, dying,
deciding not to participate in the subsequent surveys, etc.
Data Collection Methods
Structured data Collection Methods: (face to face, mail, telephone,
computer, etc)
Examples
•Face to face
This is probably the most traditional method of the survey research
design. It can be very accurate.
•It allows you to be selective about to whom you ask questions and you
can explain anything that they do not understand.
•In addition, you can make a judgment about who you think is wasting
your time or giving stupid answers.
•There are a few things to be careful of with this approach; firstly, people
can be reluctant to give up their time without some form of incentive.
•Another factor to bear in mind is that is difficult to ask personal
questions face to face without embarrassing people.
•It is also very time consuming and difficult to obtain a representative
sample.
•Finally, if you are going to be asking questions door-to-door, it is
essential to ensure that you have some official identification to prove
who you are.
Mail
This does not necessarily mean using the postal service; this includes
delivering it physically.
•This is a good way of targeting a certain section of people and is
excellent if you need to ask personal or potentially embarrassing
questions.
•The problems with this method are that you cannot be sure of how many
responses you will receive until a long time period has passed.
Structuring and Designing the Questionnaire
•The design of your questionnaire depends very much upon the type of
survey and the target audience.
•If you are asking questions face to face it is easy to explain if people are
unsure of a question.
•On the other hand, if your questionnaire is going to include many
personal questions then mailing methods are preferable.
•You must keep your questionnaire as short as possible; people will
either refuse to fill in a long questionnaire or get bored halfway through.
•If you do have lots of information then it may be preferable to offer
multiple-choice or rating questions to make life easier.
Statistical data Sets
•These are a collection of data - maintained in an organized form.
•The basis of any statistical analysis has to start with the collection of
data, which is then analyzed using statistical tools.
•Therefore statistical data sets form the basis from which statistical
inferences can be drawn.
•Statistical data sets may record as much information as is required by
the experiment or survey.
•For example, to study the relationship between height and age, only
the measures of these two variables might be recorded in the data set.
•Creating a statistical data set is only the first step in research.
•The interpretation and validity of the inferences drawn from the data is
what is most important.
•The next step is to devise which statistical test you are going to use
and start to enter some numbers to judge the significance of your data.
How to choose an approach or method
•Depends on the research questions and the research skill of the
researcher.
Appropriateness of Method
Some methods are better suited to a study of certain research questions than
others. Some might even be totally inappropriate to your research question.

So type of research methodology depends on:

•Research Questions/problem
•Variables – qualitative or quantitative

USE OF MIXED METHODS

•Type of data – nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio
1. Nominal-scaled data
These are mainly qualitative and assigned to a number of categories of equal importance,
for example, gender [male, female].
2. Ordinal-scaled data
Ordinal-scaled data are mainly qualitative and assigned to coded categories. Ranking is
implied between categories, for example, Class [1st years, 2nd years, 3rd years, Honours].
3. Interval-scaled data
These are quantitative; they possess both order and distance but no origin, for example,
IQ scores and temperature (say, in degrees Centigrade).
4. Ratio-scaled data
Ratio-scaled data are quantitative with a zero origin, for example, age, height and
weight. They possess all the properties of the other data types. “Ratio” is regarded as the
strongest level of data and “nominal” the weakest.
When the phenomenon being investigated is not well understood, a
qualitative research can be used first to generate preliminary hypotheses,
and then quantitative research is used to test specific hypotheses.
For comprehensive studies, it is better to use both approaches (i.e.
qualitative and quantitative), a situation where, the quantitative method
helps to test hypotheses and to make the study more objective and the
qualitative method helps to give a complete understanding or in-depth
information on the phenomenon being studied – in all its dimensions.
•Complex studies, having many different research questions may use
both approaches to answer particular questions or to address particular
research problems.
•E.g., poverty is multidimensional in nature, i.e., it has social, political and
economic dimensions. So, a poverty study may need both approaches to
be studied – a situation where the qualitative research methods are used
to investigate the social and political issues and help the voice of the poor
to be heard and quantitative methods are used to study the economic
issues.
According to Lee (1999), within a single study multiple qualitative and
quantitative techniques that involve complementary data-gathering
activities can be applied that compensate for the weaknesses of
individual tactics.

The data becomes more comprehensive and quite informative.

E.g. The factors affecting an organizational phenomenon can be
quantitatively investigated – using a field experiment and regression
analysis and qualitative techniques used to inform about additional,
little known variables, processes and conditions that might surround
the effects investigated by the quantitative techniques.
•Normally a semi-structured questionnaire is used to include both
closed and open-ended questions.
Note:
Social experiences and the realities of the world are multidimensional and
so if phenomena are viewed only along a single dimension we cannot have a
complete picture of what is going on around us.
•Qualitative empirical research tends to expose the complexity of real life
experience.
•The use of mixed methods and a multidimensional approach allows the
researcher to frame questions which precisely focus on how different
dimensions and scales of social existence are related.
•The particular strength of qualitative research lies in the knowledge provided
regarding the dynamics of social processes, change and social context, and in its
ability to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions in those domains.
•There are two core elements to the logic of qualitative explanation: one relates
to a qualitative logic of comparison, e.g., between cases, situations, contexts,
over time, etc and the second relates to the significance of context.
•Understanding how social processes and phenomena are embedded within
specific contexts makes possible the development of cross-contextual
generalizations.
This entails the use of contextual explanation, where emphasis is on
explaining how different dimensions of context together link up together with
the processes or questions driving the study.

Using mixed methods to ‘triangulate’ or to corroborate each other suggests an

integrated framework, where each method and form of data is used to
highlight a specific part of the picture.
There might however be tensions arising from differences in approaches to
data collection because of using different sets of assumptions.
To overcome any such potential difficulty the solution is in how explanations
are done.
Explanations do not have to be internally consistent to have a meaning and
capacity to explain.
If indeed the realities of the world are multidimensional – political, social,
cultural, economic, etc, then explanations arising from mixed data-
collection methods would be likewise (see Cho and Trent, 2006; Dixon-
Woods, et. al. 2006, Moran-Ellis, 2006; Mason, 2006 in Kimani, 2009).
Remember:
•Using a quantitative research design is an excellent way of finalizing
results and proving or disproving a hypothesis, and
•Scientific experiments are useful for testing the data gained by a
series of qualitative experiments, leading to a final answer, and a
narrowing down of possible directions for follow up research to take.