10.2 Texts, voices and numbers: Using mixed methods to sketch social phenomena

2020 ◽  
pp. 287-291
Author(s):  
Laura Dales
2021 ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
Jennifer Greene

For several decades now, researchers and evaluators around the globe have turned to a mixed methods approach to social inquiry as a strategy for "better understanding" the important social phenomena be-ing studied. One accomplishment of this time period is the elaboration of varied methodological framework(s) and approaches for mixed methods practice by many theorists and practitioners. It is now im-portant to turn our attention to the politics of mixed methods social in-quiry, which can also enlighten our thinking about mixed methods pos-sibilities, including the contributions that mixed methods social inquiry can make to our increasingly troubled world. Within social science, politics generally refers to the values that are advanced by a given study. Values are most commonly conveyed through our designated inquiry purpose and audience, key inquiry questions, and accompany-ing methodological design. This presentation will engage this important topic using the formal language of methodology and the common lan-guage of storytelling.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Udo Kelle ◽  
Christoph Kühberger ◽  
Roland Bernhard

As in many other social science disciplines, mixed methods and triangulation are gaining importance in history education research. Nevertheless, in this discipline there is also a prevailing lack of theoretical and methodological reflection about method integration. With this article, we wish to stimulate the methodological debate regarding this issue within the community of history education researchers and to strengthen the research profile of the discipline. We start by presenting lines of discussion regarding adequate research methods for the investigation of different types of social phenomena. Thereafter, we show how the 'paradigm wars' in social research were mitigated by the development of integrative concepts such as triangulation and mixed methods. Then we focus on current developments in history education research in German-speaking countries. Finally, we give a brief overview on international research into history teachers' beliefs, thereby addressing specific challenges for the application of triangulation or mixed methods in our discipline.


2020 ◽  
pp. 155868982097069
Author(s):  
Allison Brown ◽  
Kent G. Hecker ◽  
Harold Bok ◽  
Rachel H. Ellaway

Realist inquiry, based on the philosophy of critical realism, focuses on exploring the underlying mechanisms that drive social phenomena. Structural equation modeling is a collection of quantitative analytical methods that take a theory-based, confirmatory approach to examining statistical relationships between measured (observable) and underlying (latent) variables. Despite originating from different scientific traditions, the apparent similarities between these two approaches hold promise for their combination in mixed methods research. This article contributes to the field of mixed methods research by exploring their potential synergies, how each approach could contribute to the other, and proposing a framework for their combinations in mixed methods research, which has implications in terms of the implied and explicit ontological and epistemological positionings of these two approaches.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Breeze

Recent political trends in many countries have sparked renewed interest in populism. Despite general agreement that the affective/emotive aspects of political communication are particularly important in this, there is little recent analysis of how populists operationalise emotion or how they genuinely differ from mainstream parties in this sense. This article applies mixed methods to explore the ‘affective-discursive practices’ that characterise the discourses of two opposition parties in the United Kingdom: United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and Labour. Comparison of the frequency of semantic subcategories related to emotion in corpora of press releases published by these parties on their websites is complemented by qualitative analysis of how specific emotional areas such as fear, anger and anxiety are invoked by the two parties. Different ‘affective-discursive practices’ underpin their discourses, since Labour characteristically frames reactions to social phenomena in terms of worry and concern, while UKIP legitimates fear and anger, but also projects more positive emotions.


2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavica Sevkusic

In the humanities, in the last two decades, there has been an evident increase of research combining quantitative and qualitative methods, techniques, approaches, concepts or language. This paper discusses the arguments for and against these research drafts, which most often appear in literature under the title mixed methods research. While some authors consider this type of research as the announcement of the third paradigm in studying social phenomena and the approach that shifts the war between the two paradigms into the past, other authors claim that the paradigms underlying the two basic research orientations are incompatible because they study essentially different phenomena, and therefore the methods from two research traditions cannot be combined in any way. The third viewpoint, which we advocate as well, argues that qualitative and quantitative methods cannot be applied together in one draft for the purposes of triangulation or cross-validation, but that they can be combined for complementary objectives. This paper describes the example of mixed methods draft of complementary objectives in pedagogy, which refers to evaluation of mathematics curriculum. The example shows that combining qualitative and quantitative methods is not only possible, but that it creates the conditions for arriving at data which would not be possible to obtain using only one or the other approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Moltke Martiny ◽  
Juan Toro ◽  
Simon Høffding

Despite a long history of researchers who combine phenomenology with qualitative or quantitative methods, there are only few examples of working with a phenomenological mixed method—a method where phenomenology informs both qualitative and quantitative data generation, analysis, and interpretation. Researchers have argued that in working with a phenomenological mixed method, there should be mutual constraint and enlightenment between the qualitative (first-person, subjective) and quantitative (third-person, objective) methods for studying consciousness. In this article, we discuss what a framework for phenomenological mixed methods could look like and we aim to provide guidance of how to work within such framework. We are inspired by resources coming from research in mixed methods and existing examples of phenomenological mixed-method research. We also present three cases of phenomenological mixed methods where we study complex social phenomena and discuss the process of how we conducted the studies. From both the research inspiration and our own studies, we depict the landscape of possibilities available for those interested in mixing phenomenology with qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as the challenges and common pitfalls that researchers face. To navigate in this landscape, we develop a three-fold structure, focusing on (1) the phenomenological frame, (2) the phenomenologically informed generation of qualitative and quantitative data (tier one), and (3) the phenomenologically informed analysis and interpretation of data (tier two).


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 888-903
Author(s):  
Rodney S Whiteman

Purpose – Mixed methods research can provide a fruitful line of inquiry for educational leadership, program evaluation, and policy analysis; however, mixed methods research requires a metatheory that allows for mixing what have traditionally been considered incompatible qualitative and quantitative inquiry. The purpose of this paper is to apply Jürgen Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action as that metatheoretical justification. Design/methodology/approach – After reviewing the traditional quantitative/qualitative divide based on incompatible ontologies, the author argues for a pragmatist stance toward educational leadership inquiry. Such a stance allows for mixing methods because it privileges methodology and epistemology in social inquiry, rather than ontological theories of reality. Using Habermas’s metatheory, the author shows how truth claims are linguistically mediated; how they make reference to objective, subjective, and normative formal worlds; and how they are always fallible and revisable. Findings – The author argues that Habermas’s metatheory allows (and requires) integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches to fully understand social phenomena. Such integration is possible if researchers attempt to make methodological decisions explicit by linking methodology (and thus methodical decisions) to all three formal worlds, and articulating the rationale for doing so. The author also argues that making the entire corpus of claims bound within a line of social inquiry subject to critical examination promotes the validity of inquiry. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the discussion on mixed methods research by applying a particular strand of pragmatism. This is an advance in the extant literature, which argues for a pragmatist stance on mixed methods research, but has not yet conceptualized a metatheoretical position supporting this stance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 660-672
Author(s):  
Suzanne H. Kimball ◽  
Toby Hamilton ◽  
Erin Benear ◽  
Jonathan Baldwin

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emotional tone and verbal behavior of social media users who self-identified as having tinnitus and/or hyperacusis that caused self-described negative consequences on daily life or health. Research Design and Method An explanatory mixed-methods design was utilized. Two hundred “initial” and 200 “reply” Facebook posts were collected from members of a tinnitus group and a hyperacusis group. Data were analyzed via the LIWC 2015 software program and compared to typical bloggers. As this was an explanatory mixed-methods study, we used qualitative thematic analyses to explain, interpret, and illustrate the quantitative results. Results Overall, quantitative results indicated lower overall emotional tone for all categories (tinnitus and hyperacusis, initial and reply), which was mostly influenced by higher negative emotion. Higher levels of authenticity or truth were found in the hyperacusis sample but not in the tinnitus sample. Lower levels of clout (social standing) were indicated in all groups, and a lower level of analytical thinking style (concepts and complex categories rather than narratives) was found in the hyperacusis sample. Additional analysis of the language indicated higher levels of sadness and anxiety in all groups and lower levels of anger, particularly for initial replies. These data support prior findings indicating higher levels of anxiety and depression in this patient population based on the actual words in blog posts and not from self-report questionnaires. Qualitative results identified 3 major themes from both the tinnitus and hyperacusis texts: suffering, negative emotional tone, and coping strategies. Conclusions Results from this study suggest support for the predominant clinical view that patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis have higher levels of anxiety and depression than the general population. The extent of the suffering described and patterns of coping strategies suggest clinical practice patterns and the need for research in implementing improved practice plans.


Pflege ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kleinknecht-Dolf ◽  
Elisabeth Spichiger ◽  
Irena Anna Frei ◽  
Marianne Müller ◽  
Jacqueline S. Martin ◽  
...  

Hintergrund: Mit der Einführung der DRG-basierten Finanzierung erhalten Spitäler einen kleineren finanziellen Spielraum, was Prozessoptimierungen notwendig macht. Internationale Erfahrungen zeigen, dass solche Restrukturierungen Einfluss auf für die Pflege notwendige Kontextfaktoren haben können. Dadurch können auch Pflegequalität und Patientensicherheit beeinträchtigt werden. Ziel: Ziel der «DRG Begleitforschung Pflege» ist, ein Monitoringmodell samt dazugehörenden Instrumenten zur kontinuierlichen Überwachung des Einflusses der DRG-Finanzierung auf zentrale Pflegekontextfaktoren zu entwickeln. Methode: Die vorliegenden deskriptiven quantitativen Resultate wurden im Rahmen der in einem Mixed-Methods-Design durchgeführten Untersuchung mittels einer Online-Befragung erhoben, an der sich Pflegefachpersonen aus fünf Spitälern beteiligten. Ergebnisse: Die Resultate zeigen, dass die untersuchten Pflegekontextfaktoren «Komplexität der Pflege», «Arbeitsumgebungsqualität», «Führungsverhalten», «Moralischer Stress» und «Zufriedenheit mit der Arbeitsstelle» in allen Fachbereichen hinsichtlich der Arbeitsumgebung und Leistungserbringung der Pflege relevant sind. Es lassen sich Muster erkennen, die im Einklang mit der Literatur stehen, und die Hinweise auf die im Modell angenommenen Beziehungen zwischen diesen Kontextfaktoren geben. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Studie hat einerseits für die beteiligten Betriebe nützliche Daten geliefert, auf deren Basis sie Maßnahmen zur Sicherung der Qualität und Entwicklung der Pflege diskutieren können, andererseits konnten wichtige Informationen zur Weiterentwicklung des Modells und zu den eingesetzten Instrumenten gesammelt werden.


Pflege ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Schärli ◽  
Rita Müller ◽  
Jacqueline S. Martin ◽  
Elisabeth Spichiger ◽  
Rebecca Spirig

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Im klinischen Alltag stellt die interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit zwischen Pflegefachpersonen und Ärzt(inn)en immer wieder eine Herausforderung dar. Quantitative oder qualitative Studien haben das Ziel, Erkenntnisse zu einer verbesserten Zusammenarbeit aufzuzeigen. Diese Erkenntnisse sind jedoch aus methodischen Gründen oft begrenzt. Ziel: Mittels Triangulation quantitativer und qualitativer Daten beschreibt diese Studie die interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit aus Sicht der Pflegefachpersonen. Methode: Die Datenerhebung erfolgte in einem Mixed Methods-Design im Rahmen der interprofessionellen Sinergia DRG-Begleitforschung. Zunächst erfolgte eine separate Analyse der quantitativen und qualitativen Daten. Durch die Triangulation entstand in vier Schritten eine „Meta-Matrix“. Ergebnisse: Die „Meta-Matrix“ bildet alle relevanten quantitativen und qualitativen Ergebnisse sowie ihre Zusammenhänge modellähnlich auf einer Seite ab. Die Relevanz, die Einflussfaktoren sowie die Folgen der interprofessionellen Zusammenarbeit für Mitarbeitende, Patient(inn)en, Angehörige und Systeme werden deutlich. Schlussfolgerung: Die interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit aus Sicht der Pflegefachpersonen in fünf Spitälern wird erstmals umfassend in einer „Meta-Matrix“ aufgezeigt. Die Folgen ungenügender Zusammenarbeit zwischen Pflegefachpersonen und Ärzt(inn)en sind beträchtlich, weshalb in interprofessionelle Konzepte investiert werden muss. Aus der „Meta-Matrix“ ist ersichtlich, welche Faktoren für die interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit hinderlich bzw. förderlich sind.


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