Mixed methods came into emergence during the 1990s as a process of combining quantitative and qualitative approaches at different stages within a single research study. Known as the third paradigm in research methodology after traditional [Page 576]quantitative and qualitative methods, mixed methods attempts to legitimate the use of multiple approaches in answering research questions. The use of mixed methods is particularly suitable for research in curriculum studies because it permits the exploration of complex instructional issues that do not lend themselves to numerical examination and interpretation. The use of mixed methods eschews the belief that researchers are constrained in their choices for approaching the study of phenomena, relegated to solely selecting either the quantitative or qualitative approach.

Qualitative methods rely primarily on the use of text ...