QUALITATIVE AND MIXED RESEARCH METHODS IN ECONOMICS: THE ADDED VALUE WHEN USING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Abstract

This paper aims to add to a scholarly dialogue regarding the role and value of qualitative techniques in economic research. In the last decade there has been a detailed and ongoing discussion as to which paradigm needs to win eventually. The debate should not be a key issue; the key issue would be to improve research quality through data visualization of quantitative and qualitative research methods. This paper surveys the growing use of qualitative and mixed methods in economics, aiming to provide economists - learners and users of statistics - with a useful roadmap through major sets of qualitative methods and how they are used. The author reviews some of the economic studies using qualitative or mixed approaches, emphasizing the gains from using qualitative or mixed methods. It is argued that, although qualitative methods are often portrayed as less accurate, less powerful or less credible than quantitative methods, in fact, the two sets of methods have their own strengths. How much can be learned from one type of method or the other depends on specific issues that arise in studying the topic of interest.

Keywords

• qualitative methods; mixed methods; survey methodology