Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods Research

Taken from http://infotoxology.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Mixed-Methods-Approach.png

Quantitative, Qualitative,

and Mixed Methods Research:

What Methodology Suits one’s Research Better

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Post 221

         “Selecting a research methodology is not a simple task. The type of research methodology selected has a significant impact on how data will be collected, analyzed, and presented” (Laureate Education, 2015). As a researcher, based on what one’s research intentions are, the choosing of the “right” methodology is crucial. One needs to carefully pick out the methodology that can help comprehend our teaching reality better, our students’ perception of the world, the predictability of reactions when a number of variables are put together, and so on. Though, “historically, researchers selected either quantitative or qualitative approaches” (Laureate Education, 2015), the possible use of what is now termed as mixed methodologies is there for the researcher to make use of.

         “Research methodologies are approaches used to conduct research. Selecting a research methodology is dependent upon two major factors: the nature of the research you plan to conduct and the research question you intend to investigate” (Laureate Education, Academic Research, 2013). Whereas quantitative research aims at gathering large pieces of data “that can be easily organized and manipulated into reports for analysis” (Qualitative and quantitative research for small business, n.d.), qualitative research is “a subjective approach that focuses on examining issues and understanding phenomena related to the values, attitudes, and perceptions of a research subject or group” (Laureate Education, Academic Research, 2013). Both methodologies intend to make what is invisible to the naked eye of the teaching professional visible enough to study and understand it.

         No doubt that quantitative and qualitative research approaches complement each other. A quantitative researcher may aim at trying to understand the cause-effect relationships variables have in given populations; on the other hand, a qualitative researcher’s intention is to analyze the individuals of those given populations’ perceptions of a phenomenon that is going on among group members. However, though this is not exactly recent, many researchers in education may also make use of a mixed methods approach for their research projects. As stated by Creswell (2003), “mixed methods research has come to age. To include only quantitative and qualitative methods falls short of the major approaches being used today in the social and human sciences.” It is for this reason that a mixed methods research design can be much more benefitial in certain types of projects.

Within my field of expertise and work, English Language Teaching (ELT) a mixed methods approach is viable. “Recognizing that all methods have limitations, researchers felt that biases inherent in any single method could neutralize or cancel the biases of other methods” (Creswell, 2003). In other words, though there has been a sort of rivalry between defenders of any of the two research methods, the fact is that they can complement each other when data is analyzed and triangulated to give it real validity. We can perfectly enhance research studies with “sequential procedures” that can help researchers “elaborate on or expand findings of one method with another method,” with “concurrent procedures, in which the researcher converges quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem,” and with “transformative procedures” that are used as “a theoretical lens” that can overarch a perspective “within a design that contains both quantitative and qualitative data” (Creswell, 2003).

Taken from http://www.slideshare.net/uqudent/introduction-to-qualitative-and-mixed-methods-research-uqudent-bajammal

To conclude, as a researcher in the field of education, any teaching professional can embark him/herself in research projects. One cannot look down on oneself by saying that we professionals cannot carry out a research project, because the fact is that we are entitled to do it, especially when we see the reality many of our learners live in our classrooms. Moreover, there are phenomena that we want to comprehend to assist them on their learning by exploring what they experience as students or by introducing variables that can yield a different output when applied to large numbers of learners. Any of us faculty members or instructors can become active researchers in our classrooms or in our institutions to help our pupils create their knowledge much more successfully.

References

Creswell, J. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved from http://ucalgary.ca/paed/files/paed/2003_creswell_a-framework-for-design.pdf

Laureate Education, I. (2013). Academic Research. Retrieved from Faculty Development: https://lnps.elearning.laureate.net/bbcswebdav/institution/LPS1/

Laureate Education, I. (2015). Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods Research. Retrieved from Faculty Development: http://global3.laureate.net/#/home/faculty

Qualitative and quantitative research for small business. (n.d.). Retrieved from British Library: http://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/articles/qualitative-and-quantitative-research-for-small-business

Taken from http://www.differencebtw.com/difference-between-quantitative-and-qualitative-research/