Qualitative and Mixed‐Methods Research

This chapter presents a general overview of perspectives on qualitative and mixed-methods research theory and analytical methods. It begins with an overview of qualitative research and a comparison of the differences between qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research is an inductive process that utilizes data to drive theory creation, whereas quantitative research is typically deductive in nature and is based on an existing body of knowledge. Mixed-methods research is growing in popularity and represents using the “best of both worlds” by combining qualitative and quantitative techniques to more fully answer a research question. Many techniques, such as interviews, used in traditional quantitative research can be adapted for qualitative purposes. Increasing training and publication outlets for qualitative research is leading to an increase in the use of alternative techniques. Controlled Vocabulary Terms data collection; mixed-design analysis of variance; qualitative forecasting