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Glossary of Sociology terms A Achieved status: Social status based on an individual's effort, rather than traits assigned by biological factors. Examples of achieved status include 'veteran', 'graduate' or 'doctor'. Affirmative action: Action favouring those who tend to suffer from discrimination
Using more than one method when conducting sociological research is known as using mixed methods and some sociologists use a triangulation of methods to help them decide which methods are best for their research. They could use a number of mixed methods, including questionnaires, content analysis and interviews.
- When to Use Mixed Methods Research
- Mixed Methods Research Designs
- Advantages of Mixed Methods Research
- Disadvantages of Mixed Methods Research
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Mixed methods research may be the right choice if your research processsuggests that quantitative or qualitative data alone will not sufficiently answer your research question. There are several common reasons for using mixed methods research: 1. Generalizability: Qualitative research usually has a smaller sample size, and thus is not generalizable...
There are different types of mixed methods research designs. The differences between them relate to the aim of the research, the timing of the data collection, and the importance given to each data type. As you design your mixed methods study, also keep in mind: 1. Your research approach (inductive vs deductive) 2. Your research questions 3. What k...
“Best of both worlds” analysis
Combining the two types of data means you benefit from both the detailed, contextualized insights of qualitative data and the generalizable, externally valid insights of quantitative data. The strengths of one type of data often mitigate the weaknesses of the other. For example, solely quantitative studies often struggle to incorporate the lived experiences of your participants, so adding qualitative data deepens and enriches your quantitative results. Solely qualitative studies are often not...
Method flexibility
Mixed methods are less tied to disciplines and established research paradigms. They offer more flexibility in designing your research, allowing you to combine aspects of different types of studies to distill the most informative results. Mixed methods research can also combine theory generation and hypothesis testingwithin a single study, which is unusual for standalone qualitative or quantitative studies.
Workload
Mixed methods research is very labor-intensive. Collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing two types of data into one research product takes a lot of time and effort, and often involves interdisciplinary teams of researchers rather than individuals. For this reason, mixed methods research has the potential to cost much more than standalone studies.
Differing or conflicting results
If your analysis yields conflicting results, it can be very challenging to know how to interpret them in a mixed methods study. If the quantitative and qualitative results do not agree or you are concerned you may have confounding variables, it can be unclear how to proceed. Due to the fact that quantitative and qualitative data take two vastly different forms, it can also be difficult to find ways to systematically compare the results, putting your data at risk for biasin the interpretation...
If you want to know more about statistics, methodology, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
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definition of sociology, including: 1) “Sociology is a scientific study or science of society or of social phenomenon.” L. F. Ward 2) “It is the study of the relationship between man and his human
A mixed-methods approach is a research methodology in its own right. As stated by Creswell and Plano Clark (2011), a mixed-methods research design is a research design that has its own philosophical assumptions and methods of inquiry.
A dictionary of sociology is an attempt to (re)state the principal theories and findings of the discipline, and thereby inevitably con-tributes to the definition of a canon. Sociology remains, however, a critical discipline, which constantly questions its origins and its evolution.
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Depending on choices made across four dimensions, mixed-methods can provide an investigator with many design choices which involve a range of sequential and concurrent strategies. Defining features of these designs are reported along with quality control methods, and ethical concerns.
