Type Bryman

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Social Research Methods

Chapter 27: Mixed methods
research: combining quantitative and
qualitative research
Slides authored by Tom Owens

© Alan Bryman, 2016. All rights reserved.

 The argument against multi-strategy
research
• The embedded methods argument:
– Research methods carry epistemological and
ontological commitments
– Thus multi-strategy research is not feasible or even
desirable
• The paradigm argument:
– Quantitative and qualitative research are separate,
incommensurable paradigms
– Thus even when combined they are incompatible

Pages 636-637

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Two versions of the debate

• Epistemological version
– Incompatible epistemological principles of quantitative
and qualitative research
– E.g. embedded methods/ paradigm arguments
• Technical version
– Quantitative and qualitative research strategies can be
combined
– Relative strengths and weaknesses of each for data
collection/ analysis

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Morgan’s (1998) classification

The priority decision: How far is a qualitative or a

quantitative method the principal data-gathering tool or
do they have equal weight?

The sequence decision: Which method precedes

which? In other words, does the qualitative method
precede the quantitative one or vice versa or is the
data collection associated with each method
concurrent?

Thinking deeply 27.2

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 Morgan’s types of mixed methods in
terms of priority and sequence

Figure 27.1
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Four basic mixed methods designs

1. Convergent parallel design

2. Exploratory sequential design
3. Explanatory sequential design
4. Embedded design

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Four basic mixed methods designs

1. Convergent parallel design

2. Exploratory sequential design

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Four basic mixed methods designs

3. Explanatory parallel design

4. Embedded design

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Bryman’s classification
of approaches to mixed methods research

1.Triangulation 9.Sampling
2.Offset 10.Credibility
3.Completeness 11.Context
4.Process 12.Illustration
5.Different research 13.Utility
questions 14.Confirm and discover
6.Explanation 15.Diversity of views
7.Unexpected results 16.Enhancement
8.Instrument development

Table 27.1
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Triangulation

– Results of one method/ research strategy can be

cross-checked against the results of another
– E.g. Silva and Wright (2008): Cultural Capital and
Social Exclusion
• Qualitative interviews conducted to ‘check and correct’
the quantitative data
– Planned or unplanned
– What happens if results are inconsistent?
• Treat one set of results as definitive
• But better to re-examine the data

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Offset and completeness

– When neither research strategy can provide all the

answers
– E.g. particular methods do not provide access to
required information/ groups of people
– Quantitative and qualitative methods both
compensate for the other’s weaknesses
– E.g. when ethnographers use structured
interviewing or self-completion questionnaires,
because not everything of research interest is
accessible through observation.
Pages 644-645

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Process

 Quantitative research can uncover regularities

 Qualitative research reveals social processes
 E.g. Holdsworth (2006) used a web-based
questionnaire survey to provide a broad picture
of differences between university students living at
home and living away from home and qualitative
interviews and focus groups to explore the
processes that lie behind those differences.

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 Different research questions

– Quantitative research is better suited to the study of ‘macro’

phenomena (such as social mobility)
– Qualitative research is better suited to the study of ‘micro’
phenomena (such as small group interaction)
– Different phases in a research study suit one strategy more
than another, because of the different aspects studied
– Different kinds of research questions are better answered by
one strategy more than another
– Leading to choices of methods – and how they should be
interweaved – in mixed methods research

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Explanation

Quantitative researchers constantly

face the problem of explaining the
relationships between variables.

Qualitative research can discover the

presence and role of intervening
variables.

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 Unexpected results

– Research outcomes can yield unexpected results,

inconsistent data and puzzling surprises
– Sometimes anticipated results fail to materialize, such
that findings are inconsistent with the research
hypothesis
– So using a second method can help to explain data
(unplanned triangulation)
– Or can provide a ‘salvage operation’ as an alternative
to reconstructing the hypothesis or simply filing them
away

Pages
650-651

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Instrument development

By aiding measurement: focus groups and

semi-structured interviews can provide the
measurements of concepts to be tested in
quantitative research, leading to much
more appropriate specification of
questions.
For instance, the results of qualitative
research can be used to inform the design
of survey questions.
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Sampling

• Quantitative research helps to form the

basis for representative sampling in
qualitative research
• For example, samples of people or
companies, with particular sets of
characteristics, provide the foundation for
in-depth interviewing or case study

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Credibility

• Some quantification of findings from

qualitative research can help to make the
study seem more believable

• Mixed methods research is often done

because of its appeal to funders and
sponsors

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 Context and illustration

• Quantitative research is often employed to

identify patterns

• Qualitative research can then be employed

to help to contextualise those discoveries

• In other cases, qualitative data can provide

useful illustrations of quantitative findings

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Utility

• Some researchers have a strong belief in

the usefulness of research for policy and
practice

• In such cases, mixed methods are

employed in the belief that they will help to
promote the utility of the research findings

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Confirm and discover

• Qualitative techniques are well suited to

induction because of the rich detail they
can provide – but they are also time-
consuming

• So, one rationale for mixed methods

research is to take the inferences from
qualitative study and test them with
quantitative research
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655

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Diversity of views

• Quantitative methods test researcher’s

theories

• Qualitative methods make participants’

meanings the center of attention

• Some research studies require both

perspectives

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Enhancement

• Triangulation provides the opportunity

to compare and contrast research
findings gained from different modes of
inquiry

• But, mixed methods need not only

triangulate findings, they can also be
used to elaborate – and enhance –
confirmatory results
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition

 Indicators of quality in
mixed methods research

• Is it well designed and conducted?

• Are the methods appropriate to the research questions?
• Is there an explicit rationale for the mixture?
• Are the separate components integrated?
• Is there a detailed account of the entire research
process?
• Are resources spread too thinly, or unevenly?
• Are the researchers more skilled in one strategy than
another?

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 Reflections on mixed methods research

• Increasingly common in social research

– Research methods seen as autonomous
• Not inherently superior to mono-method or
mono-strategy research

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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 5th edition