In this paper I explore processes of knowledge production and circulation within a specific research community: the self-identified community of mixed methods scholars—i.e., the group of researchers adopting a mixed methods approach and using the label mixed methods—during the phase of its emergence and institutionalization. I focus on citations within this community, considering that the act of citing is linked to the intention of scholars to position their work not only within a research area but also within a community contributing to that specific area. I employed strategies from citation network analysis (CNA) to understand the fields involved, as well as the structure of the community in relation to citation practices. I identified the most common subjects and methodological fields in which mixed methods are mentioned by isolating sub-communities and the most influential authors in the network. I discuss the implications of this network structure with regard to power relations and hegemony. This also includes the function of nodes which appear to be marginal, but are relevant in citation practices since these authors play a bridging role across the various sub-communities.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4008
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Social research today is marked by a contradictory constellation: Even though calls for methodological pluralism are prevalent and the principles of method integration are widely accepted, researchers still largely reproduce the traditional qualitative-quantitative-divide in their methodological boundary making. Actual applications of mixed and multimethod research remain a niche phenomenon. I argue that the reasons for this persistence of methodological schisms are, on the one hand, to be found in the way that pluralistic norms have successfully been integrated into the rhetoric with which proponents of qualitative and quantitative research traditions distinguish their approaches against each other. On the other hand, they also lie in the current mixed-methods-discourse and the related focus on textbook methodology and paradigmatic group identity. To strengthen the impact of mixed methods as a meta-reflexive critique of methodological schisms, methodologists should incorporate empirical studies of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research practice into their work, and shift their focus more towards the social and cultural factors influencing methodological divisions. I outline what I consider to be core elements of such a post-methodological approach to mixed and multimethod methodology.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3966
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Januar 31, 2023, 12:00 am,
Leila Akremi, Dagmar Zanker,
Uncategorized.
Citizens are more likely to accept reforms of welfare state arrangements if they perceive them as just and reasonable. However, the concept of social justice is multidimensional. For instance, in discourses on old-age security, justice is addressed in terms of meritocratic principles, demands, processes, redistribution, gender, or intergenerational equity.
In the study "Lebensverläufe und Altersvorsorge" (LeA) [Life Courses and Old-Age Provision], respondents could express their wishes for retirement and the German statutory pension system in an open-ended question. We draw on this study to illustrate who addresses which social justice dimensions and how. Methodologically, we mixed standardized administrative and survey data with qualitative content analysis.
More generally, we aim to highlight the rich analytical potential and challenges of open-ended questions. We reflect on methodological issues, e.g., the time-consuming preparation and interpretation of an enormous amount of non-standardized data, the interview situation compared to conventional qualitative interviews as well as interpretation difficulties due to missing contextual information. Furthermore, we prepared the open-ended question for quantitative analysis and integrated it into the data set while preserving its qualitative character. Finally, to illustrate options for joint analyses, we combined content analysis results with sequence/cluster analysis for longitudinal quantitative data.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4003
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Longitudinal research holds great promise for researching change and continuity. Qualitative and quantitative longitudinal research can be combined within a mixed methods framework, which enables gaining complementary insights that are more nuanced and more valid. However, longitudinal research generally entails more practical challenges than cross-sectional research. Further, combining qualitative and quantitative strategies in mixed methods longitudinal research (MMLR) multiplies these challenges. In this publication, I start by conceptualizing qualitative and quantitative longitudinal research and highlighting their respective strengths and challenges. I subsequently outline design options and implications of mixed methods longitudinal projects. Hereby, I distinguish traditional dimensions of mixed methods and longitudinal research designs, such as time and timing, priority, purpose, sampling, data collection, analysis and interpretation, and reporting. In MMLR these dimensions have an extended time dimension because these design decisions have to be made or revisited in each wave. With this contribution, I aim to advance conceptual thinking in an area of research that is certainly underdeveloped, but has great potential.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4012
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Januar 31, 2023, 12:00 am,
Lukas Sattlegger, Anna S. Brietzke, Melina Stein, Florian D. Schneider,
Uncategorized.
The application of go-along interviews allows an integrated mix of methods, combining qualitative interviews with participant observation. This facilitates linking discourses and practices. The method's particular sensitivity to the spatial embeddedness and reflection of social processes has been evaluated and described in various research contexts. In our article, we highlight the added value of go-along interviews for social-ecological and transdisciplinary research. The COVID-19 lockdowns and their effects on everyday practices of urban residents served as a lens to trace interactions with nature that have been habitualized into everyday walks. Discussing specific episodes from our interviews, we reflect on methodological features of go-along interviews, such as generating narratives, considering material environments and non-human actors, opening up memories and experiences, reconstructing evaluations, and enabling self-reflection. We contrast these potentials with specific challenges in the application of go-along interviews, especially with regard to the accessibility of the interview space, the methodical requirements of the dynamic interview situation, and the altered relationship between interviewer and interviewee. Considering these challenges, conducting go-along interviews can significantly enrich both, the scientific descriptions of urban ecology and the methodological spectrum of research on urban nature. Furthermore, go-along interviews provide a conceptual proximity to transdisciplinary, participatory, and transformative research.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3923
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Januar 31, 2023, 12:00 am,
Candice Groenewald, Zaynab Essack,
Uncategorized.
Participatory research approaches in which participants are placed at the center of the research have been successfully used to facilitate research engagement and open expression. In this article we describe our experiences of using a novel, hybrid participatory methodology called expression sessions (ES) with adolescents. We specifically explain how the ES method was conceptualized and operationalized and offer reflections on the usefulness of this approach. Our study was implemented through 24 focus group discussions with 144 adolescent participants aged 12-17 years old. We found the ES method valuable to encourage active participation, facilitate open and meaningful expressions, and enhance collaborative reflection. Through the ES approach participants had the freedom to choose their most proficient ways of expression, which facilitated reflection and discussion of issues in new meaningful ways. In this article thus we present an alternative, participatory methodology that can easily be adopted by qualitative researchers and with diverse samples.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3927
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Januar 31, 2023, 12:00 am,
Özen Odağ, Alexandra Mittelstädt,
Uncategorized.
Research on the psychology of the Internet and social media (POISM) is characterized by a heavy methodological compartmentalization. In the current contribution we show empirically that 1. quantitative methods constitute the preferred gold standard of the field's mainstream (favored over qualitative and mixed methods), 2. the field is divided into separate communities of practice (psychology, communication, cultural/media studies), each with their own type of causal claims and associated methods. To show this we content analyze published articles in 2020 across six pertinent POISM journals for instances of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods as well as regularity-type versus subjective meaning-type causal logic. We find that regularity-type causal logic is at the center of quantitative research practices in psychology and communication, while qualitative subjective meaning-type causal logic is adopted by scholars in cultural/media studies, with hardly any overlap in between, and only few mixed methods studies. To describe how the research area would profit from mixed methods approaches, we subsequently present a mixed methods study about social media-based integration patterns of Korean and Turkish-heritage individuals in Germany. We conclude by dissolving some of the exclusive stereotyped notions of causality and methods in POISM research and suggest avenues for methodologically more inclusive practices of inquiry.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4009
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Januar 31, 2023, 12:00 am,
Udo Kelle, Florian Reith,
Uncategorized.
In our paper we discuss and criticize an idea which is often taken for granted in methodological discourses about mixed methods: namely that social researchers in general and mixed methods researchers in particular have to adopt a specific epistemological paradigm (a set of beliefs which have to be accepted a priori) before they can meaningfully perform research. By examining different versions of this model of paradigm-bound methodology which Yvonna LINCOLN and Egon GUBA had developed between the 1980s and 2010s, we will discuss implications of the notion paradigm and show that several of the paradigms proposed as the basis of research (e.g., positivism or constructivism) are ill-defined, lack coherence and are only superficially related to actual developments in the history of philosophical thought or contemporary epistemological debates. As an alternative to paradigm-bound methodology we will propose that researchers apply methods in an epistemologically informed way by employing epistemological concepts not as immutable givens but as heuristic devices which are used to identify and solve methodological problems. We will exemplify our approach by means of data from our own mixed methods study in which we simultaneously drew on realist and constructivist concepts to foster the understanding of contradictory statistical results.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4015
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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the practice of qualitative interviewing has recently undergone a strong trend toward virtualization. The gold standard of conducting face-to-face interviews had to be translated into a digital format, enabling researchers to conduct interviews at a distance. In this article, we reflect on the opportunities and limitations of virtual interviews and consider epistemological consequences in the wake of their increased use and acceptance. Methodological questions arise regarding empirical topics, sampling, social interview situations, as well as the technical setting. We further reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of interviews at a distance and suggest that this novel form of interviewing may soon become the new normal.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4010
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Januar 31, 2023, 12:00 am,
Mathias Mejeh, Gerda Hagenauer, Michaela Gläser-Zikuda,
Uncategorized.
In this paper, we present and discuss mixed methods research in the context of research on learning and instruction. Education as a field of research can be viewed as highly complex. This complexity is reflected at various levels of the educational system, which are highly interrelated, and where multiple perspectives must be considered, as well as in the reciprocal and intertwined relationships between factors related to learning and instruction. Therefore, we first introduce one of the central theories on the quality of learning and instruction: the offer-and-use model. Second, we review the methodological foundations of research on learning and instruction. Two methodological approaches are discussed in more detail and their strengths and weaknesses are elaborated. Third, we present two studies from our research program and focus on their methodological implementation. Thus, we illustrate significant challenges and opportunities for implementing a mixed methods study in schools. Finally, we discuss the implications for school-based mixed methods research. We conclude the paper with general suggestions on how mixed methods approaches might be further advanced in applied school-based research.
Quelle: https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3989
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