جامعه شناسی کاربردی (Jul 2010)
Mixed Methods Research as Third Methodological Movement:
Abstract
AbstractMixed Method Research is considered as the latest methodological orientation in social and behavioralsciences and sociology which has been developed following a long period of intra-paradigm controversiesbetween quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based on pragmatist perspective, the mixed methodresearch, while emphasizing on paradigm convergence, seeks to combine both quantitative and qualitativemethodologies in a single study which takes three forms containing of concurrent, sequential, andtransformative designs. Historically tracing back to 1960s, the mixed method research methodology hasformally introduced in last decade, then, it has followed and expanded over recent years. This emergentstrategy has particular literature, principles, stages and designs quite different from the conventionalqualitative and quantitative designs.In this Paper, it has been tried to overview the historical emergence of mixed method research and itsdefinitions. Then, while introducing the deductive and inductive types of mixed method designs, six types ofmixed method research including of Concurrent-Triangulation, Concurrent-Nested, Concurrent-Transformative, Sequential-Explanatory, Sequential-Exploratory and Sequential-Transformative designs andtheir practical procedures have been discussed. Besides, some aspects of mixed method research proposalincluding of: Goals, Questions and Hypothesis in mixed method design, the place of theory, the mixedmethod data collection and analysis strategies, the practical stages of conducting and writing mixed methodsresearch reports, and the strategies of validation and evaluation mixed method designs have been explored.
