Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods in engineering education

The purpose of this research review is to open dialog about quan-titative, qualitative, and mixed research methods in engineering education research. Our position is that no particular method is privileged over any other. Rather, the choice must he driven hy the research questions. For each approach we offer a definition, aims, appropriate research questions, evaluation criteria, and examples from the Journal of Engineering Education. Then, we present empirical results firom a prestigious international confer-ence on engineering education research. Participants expressed disappointment in the low representation of qualitative studies; nonetheless, there appeared to he a strong preference for quanti-tative methods, particularly dassroom-hased experiments. Given the wide variety of issues sdU to he explored within engineering education, we expect that quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches will he essential in the fijture. We encourage readers to further investigate alternate research methods hy accessing some of our sources and collahorating across education/social sci-ence and engineering disciplinary boundaries