Mixed Methodology Research

Quantitative

Purely quantitative researchers generally work from the positivist-postpositivist paradigm. They believe that phenomena can best be measured and explained using the scientific method, which has been the dominant paradigm throughout the history of social science research. Quantitative researchers use experimental designs in which participants are randomly assigned to a treatment group, the group receiving the specific treatment, or the control group, which is the group not receiving the treatment. For example, in drug studies, some subjects will be randomly assigned to receive a drug and some subjects, assigned to the control group, will receive a placebo. The researchers then may administer a standardized instrument (an assessment that measures the results of the study) to both groups. Statistical analysis is conducted to compare the results.

A second type of design quantitative researchers use is the quasi-experimental design, which includes both treatment and control groups, but subjects are not randomly assigned to either group. Quasi-experimental designs are often used when dealing with intact groups where random assignment is not feasible, such as classrooms of students.

A third design quantitative researchers use is the causal comparative design. In causal comparative studies, the researcher does not impose a treatment. Instead research is done after the fact, or ex post facto. The researcher looks for cause and effect relationships based on group differences. For example, the researcher might investigate how familial support among new mothers is related to their postpartum depression levels.

Qualitative

Purely qualitative researchers work from the inter-pretive-constructivist paradigm. They believe that the way to understand phenomena is through exploring people's interpretations. Qualitative researchers use designs such as case study, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and narrative inquiry. Data collection is carried out as naturahstically as possible in the research context through the use of observations, interviews, and collection of documents and records. Some examples of qualitative research include a case study of counseling techniques at a clinic, an ethnography of a school counselor's day-to-day practice over an extended period of time, and an examination of counselors' use of intuition in a phenomenological study. While there are many detailed approaches to qualitative analysis, qualitative research is analyzed categorically or thematically; the researcher reads the data to identify similarities and dissimilarities.

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