Mixed methods Flashcards
Thematic analysis
foundational method, identifies themes which emerge from the data
Grounded theory
identifies themes used to derive theories, data collection continues until emerging themes ‘exhausted’
Discourse analysis
interested in the use of language, features of speech within data, how meaning is constructed
Interpretative phenomenological analysis
understanding experience of particular group of people
Content analysis
categorising information in the data, less qualitative
Advantages of qual
- Rich source of data
- Often naturalistic
- Hypothesis and theory gneration
Disadvatnages of qual
- Difficult to test findings
- Hard to generalise
- Small samples
Advantages of quan
- Testing theory and hypotheses
- Generalise findings
- Large samples
Disadvantages of quan
- Data is not rich
- Often not naturalistic
- Tendency for confirmation bias
What is triangulation?
When different methods converge on similar findings
What is pragmatism?
The idea that combining qualitative and quantitative methods balance out weaknesses in both
What are the three components of triangulation?
- Complementary
- Diverging
- Converging
What is partial vs fully mixed?
Partial: using both methods and then integrating them
Full mixing: experiment with both quan and qual responses
What is concurrent vs sequential
Whether methods are displayed together or one after the other
What is equal status vs dominant
Whether a questionnaire has approx. similar amounts of qual and quant, vs a method which is outweighed by the other
Limitations of mixed methods?
- Research is more complex to carry out
- Need to know more about a variety of methods and how o mixed them appropriately
- Time consuming
- More expensive
- Poor mixing may lead to ‘weak’ designs
What does content analysis require to be quantified?
coding
What are the rules about coding?
- Coding scheme must be explicit with each category strongly defined
- Categories must not be too broad or too narrow, must not overlap
- Strong coding ensures strong reliability
Auditory/visual detail:
reference to something seen or heard
Contextual embedding:
temporal or spatial detail
Speech hesitation:
use of filler sounds
Speech rate:
number of words per minute
Cognitive operations:
evidence of thought, reasoning or belief
Speech error:
repetition, slip of tongue, incomplete sentence
Pause:
longer than one second
Latency period:
elapse between question and answer
