Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read the instructor guidance, the mixed methods section of Chapter 7 and all of Chapter 10 in the Creswell and Creswell text and Chapter 2: Form

CHAPTER 7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES Investigators place signposts to carry the reader through a plan for a study. The first signpost is the purpose statement, which establishes the central intent for the study. The next would be the research questions or hypotheses that narrow the purpose statement to predictions about what will be learned or questions to be answered in the study. This chapter begins by advancing several principles in designing qualitative research questions and helpful scripts for writing these questions. It then turns to the design of quantitative research questions and hypotheses and ways to write these elements into a study. Finally, it advances the use of research questions and hypotheses in mixed methods studies, and it suggests the development of a unique mixed methods question that ties together or integrates the quantitative and qualitative data in a study.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS In a qualitative study, inquirers state research questions, not objectives (i.e., specific goals for the research) or hypotheses (i.e., predictions that involve variables and statistical tests). These research questions assume two forms: (a) a central question and (b) associated subquestions.

8/2/23, 1:01 AM Page 1 of 1

CHAPTER 10 MIXED METHODS PROCEDURES How would you write a mixed methods procedure section for your proposal or study? Up until this point, we have considered collected quantitative data and qualitative data. We have not discussed “mixing” or combining the two forms of data in a study. We can start with the assumption that both forms of data provide different types of information (open-ended data in the case of qualitative and closed-ended data in the case of quantitative). If we further assume that each type of data collection has both limitations and strengths, we can consider how the strengths can be combined to develop a stronger understanding of the research problem or questions (and, as well, overcome the limitations of each). In a sense, more insight into a problem is to be gained from mixing or integration of the quantitative and qualitative data. This “mixing” or integrating of data, it can be argued, provides a stronger understanding of the problem or question than either by itself. Mixed methods research, therefore, is simply “mining” the databases more by integrating them. This idea is at the core of a new methodology called “mixed methods research.”

Conveying the nature of mixed methods research and its essential characteristics needs to begin a good mixed methods procedure. Start with the assumption that mixed methods is a methodology in research and that the readers need to be educated as to the basic intent and definition of the design, the reasons for choosing the procedure, and the value it will lend to a study. Then, decide on a mixed

8/2/23, 1:02 AM Page 1 of 1

Required Resources Text

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.) (https://uagc.instructure.com/courses/119503/modules/items/6085420) . SAGE.

Chapter 7: Research Questions and Hypotheses Mixed Methods Research Questions and Hypotheses (pp. 143–146)

Chapter 10: Mixed Methods Procedures The full-text version of this ebook is available through the RedShelf platform. Chapter 7 discusses how to develop research questions and hypotheses and Chapter 10 discusses the advantages and challenges of using mixed methods, as well as details about some of the most popular mixed methods research designs. These chapters will assist you in your Discuss and Critique a Mixed Methods Research Study discussion this week.

Book Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2010). Mixed methods research: Merging theory with practice

(https://uagc.instructure.com/courses/119503/files/20016766?wrap=1) (https://uagc.instructure.com/courses/119503/files/20016766/download?download_frd=1) . Guilford Press.

Chapter 2: Formulating Questions, Conducting a Literature Review, Sampling Design, and the Centrality of Ethics in Mixed Methods Research The full-text version of this book is available through the Ebook Central database in the University of Arizona Global Campus Library. This book chapter provides information about mixed methods research, sampling, developing research questions, and choosing a research design, and will assist you in your Discuss and Critique a Mixed Methods Research Study discussion and your Research Question, Approach, and Annotated Bibliography assignment this week.

Go to top of page

Download(https://uagc.instructure.com/files/20016766/download?download_frd=1&verifier=OfAWqFl2KdRGgSgZp90zhI7y9SJxqLhm04dzBdzR)

Page

c h a P T e r 2

Formulating Questions, c onducting a Literature Review, s ampling

d esign, and the c entrality of e thics in Mixed Methods Research

This chapter addresses the art of asking questions in a mixed methods research design and the link between asking questions and the selec- tion of research methods. What types of methods, analyses, and inter- pretations are brought to bear in understanding a given set of research questions? In line with our comprehensive approach to mixed meth- ods, we look at the critical role that researcher reflexivity plays in guid- ing the researcher through the question- asking stage of the research

8/2/23, 1:04 AM Page 1 of 2

29

ing the researcher through the question- asking stage of the research process. We also discuss the influence of relevant stakeholders (grant- ing agencies and researcher sponsors), the role of the literature review, and even the occurrence of serendipity in shaping the question- asking process. We examine mixed methods sampling strategies that are often left out of mixed methods discussions. Finally, we discuss the centrality of ethics in the research process.

Researcher Reflexivity in the Question-a sking Process:

t he “c art before the h orse” Metaphor

The metaphor of the “cart before the horse” is a cautionary one in that it reminds us of a tendency to let our methods focus sometimes turn into the driving force in our research projects. An understand- ing of our own research standpoints as we embark on mixed meth-

Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy. Mixed Methods Research : Merging Theory with Practice, Guilford Publications, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/olivet/detail.action?docID=471119. Created from olivet on 2023-06-26 14:28:15.

30 M I X E D M E T H O D S R E S E A R C H

ods research projects may serve to offset this tendency. Of course, our methods decisions interact not only with our research questions but also with the skills and resources we bring to the research endeavor, as I comment on later in this chapter. Even so, we should also remain cog- nizant of the fact that our values, attitudes, and biases play an impor-

8/2/23, 1:04 AM Page 2 of 2