RESEARCH DESIGN Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches

This book advances a framework, a process, and compositional
approaches for designing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
research in the human and social sciences. Increased interest in and use of
qualitative research, the emergence of mixed methods approaches, and
continuing use of the traditional forms of quantitative designs have created a need for this book’s unique comparison of the three approaches to
inquiry. This comparison begins with preliminary consideration of philosophical assumptions for all three approaches, a review of the literature,
an assessment of the use of theory in research designs, and reflections
about the importance of writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry. The book
then addresses the key elements of the process of research: writing an
introduction, stating a purpose for the study, identifying research questions and hypotheses, and advancing methods and procedures for data
collection and analysis. At each step in this process, the reader is taken
through qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches.
The cover illustration depicts a mandala, a Hindu or Buddhist symbol
of the universe. Creation of a mandala, much like creation of a research
design, requires looking from the vantage point of a framework, an overall
design, as well as focused attention on the detail-a mandala made of
sand can take days to create because of the precise positioning of the
pieces, which sometimes are individual grains of sand. The mandala also
shows the interrelatedness of the parts of the whole, again reflecting
research design, in which each element contributes to and influences the
shape of a complete study.