Mixed methods

This chapter considers mixed methods, defined as using two or more research methods within a project, and explores the reasons why a researcher may choose two or more methods to address their chosen area of study. Starting with a discussion of the aims researchers may have in using multiple methods, the chapter then briefly describes key debates about what constitutes mixed methods. It presents the advantages of using a mixed methods approach and discusses a variety of ways that researchers have used mixed methods in social research. It considers how different methods may be linked to different paradigms of social research and how different types of data offer researchers different perspectives on the social world. The existence of different paradigms and perspectives are crucial to understanding mixed methods, because being able to see from different points of view is one of the key reasons for undertaking mixed methods research. These differences, however, are the source of some difficult aspects of mixed methods projects. Mixed methods also entail a number of practical difficulties, and these are also discussed in the chapter