Gedu 6170 Mixed Methods Research

1. GEDU 6170 Discussions
Saad Chahine, PhD
May 13, 2014

2. Discussion
• Summarizing
– Remind the readers of the results
– Does not overstate findings
– Reintroduce the purpose and how this study related to the purpose
• Explaining
– Provide interpretation of the results
– Bring in bigger picture issues
– Provided a contexts in which to interpret the results

3. Discussion
• Implications
– Explain the implication of this research
– Sometimes it’s a directive to change
– Enhance the knowledge base
• “Future Research is Needed”
– Reflection on the limitations of this work for generalizability
– Importance of the topic
– Why more work is needed

4. GEDU 6170 Mixed Methods
Saad Chahine, PhD
May 13, 2014

5. Research Approaches
Q Q
MM
Quantitative Qualitative

6. Pick Your Top Three
 Theory generation
 Collaborative
 Pluralistic
 Reductionism
 Social and historical construction
 Empirical observation and measurement
 Understanding
 Power and justice oriented
 Consequences of actions
 Theory verification
 Multiple participant meetings
 Change-oriented
 Problem-centered
 Political
 Determination
 Real-world practice oriented

7. Worldviews
“a basic set of beliefs that guide action”
(Guba, 1990, p. 17 cited in Creswell, 2014, p. 6)
Postpositivism Constructivism
• Determination
• Reductionism
• Empirical observation and
measurement
• Theory validation
• Understanding
• Multiple participant meanings
• Social and historical construction
• Theory generation
Transformative Pragmatism
• Political
• Power and justice oriented
• Collaborative
• Change-oriented
• Consequences of actions
• Problem-centered
• Pluralistic
• Real-world practice oriented

8. Three Components of Research
Approach
Research
Methods
Design
Philosophical
Worldviews

9. Postpositivist Worldview
Positivist:
• Traditional form of research
• Scientific method
• Empirical science
Postpositivist:
• Challenges the notion of absolute truth
• Deterministic philosophy in which causes determine
effects*

10. Postpositivist Worldview
• Assesses causes that influence outcomes
• Reduce ideas to a small set of ideas to test out as
variables
• Research is governed by research questions or
hypothesis
• Careful observation and measurement of
observations
• Testing a theory

11. Example of a Theory
p.1041 Dweck (1986). Motivational processes
affecting learning. American Psychologist.

12. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory – original 1979
Licensed Under Creative Commons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bronfenbrenner%27s_Ecological_Theory_of
_Development.jpg#file

13. Five Main Points
1. Knowledge is conjectural…
– Cannot prove a hypothesis; we state failure to
reject the hypothesis or “accept it”
2. Research is the process of making claims…
– Start with testing a theory
3. Data, evidence, and rational considerations…
– Collecting information through the use of
instruments

14. Five Main Points
4. Research seeks to develop relevant, true
statements…
– Advances the understanding of relationship
among variables
5. Being objective is essential…
– Validity and reliability are critical

15. Constructivist Worldview
• Belief that individuals seek understanding of the
world
• Belief that people develop subjective meanings of
their experiences
• Researchers look for the complexity of views, not the
reduction of variables that explain maximal variance
• Interview questions are often very open ended to
allow participants to construct their own knowledge
of situations

16. Constructivist Worldview
• Researchers focus on the processes and interactions
• Recognition that researcher’s personal background
shape interpretation and meaning (interpretivism)
• Develop a theory or pattern of meaning instead of
testing from theory (grounded approach)

17. 3 main points
1. Construct meaning through interacting with
the world we interpret
– Researches use open ended questions
2. Make sense of the world based on personal
historical and societal perspectives
– Interpretation is also tied to researcher
3. Generation of meaning is social from and
within community
– Meaning generated from data collected

18. Transformative Worldview
• Developed from a belief that research methods do
not fit marginalized individuals…
• Not well defined, includes researchers from various
foci and includes: feminist, critical theorists, racial
and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities
• Individuals often overlooked

19. Transformative Worldview
• Element of advocacy in research; the research is
directional towards a cause
• Research contains an action agenda that may change
the lives of those involved (differs from action
research)
• Issues address important aspects: empowerment,
inequality, and oppression…

20. Four Main Points
1. Research focuses on lives of people who have
traditionally been marginalized
2. Research focuses on inequities based on gender,
race, ethnicity, and disability…
3. Links to political and social action to inequalities
4. Utilize program theory and why problems of
oppression, domination and power exist

21. Pragmatism
• Arises from actions, situation and
consequences
• Focus on “what works”
• Focus on problem more than methods
• Practical more than focus on methods

22. Eight Points
1. No commitment to one philosophy or method
2. Researchers have freedom to chose methods,
techniques etc…
3. Look at many ways of collecting data and comparing
it (triangulation)
4. “Truth is what works at that time”

23. Eight Points
5. There is an intended purpose for the research and
an examination of consequences
6. Research is situated in context (social, historical,
etc.)
7. Practical purpose for research; no need to focus on
the nature of the world
8. Very open approach to collecting, analyzing and
looking at data

24. Research Design
• Quantitative
• Qualitative
• Mixed Methods
*design within each of these categories differs
and has evolved through the years*

25. Quantitative
• True experiments
– Randomized control trials
• Quasi-experiments
– Not as random (more natural)
• Causal-comparative
– Explain variation (regression based)
• Correlation Based
– Relationship among two or more variables
• Longitudinal Analysis
– Repeated measures of more than 3 time points

26. Qualitative
• Case study
• Ethnography
• Phonological
• Narrative
• Self inquiry
• Focus groups
• Cognitive interviews
• Iterative designs

27. Mixed Methods
• Multiple ways to mixed the two methods
Big question:
Is your research Multi-method or Mixed
Method?

28. Mixed Methods
• Convergent Parallel
– Mixing occurs at the end
• Explanatory Sequential
– Steps/Phases
• Advanced
– Transformative mixed methods
• Draws from ideas of social justice
– Embedded mixed methods
• Embedding Quant or Qual within the other
– Multiphase mixed methods
• Over time multiple parts

29. Activity
• In groups review the article you were provided
• As a larger group identify:
– Purpose
– Methodology
– Importance
– Relevance to Education