Conducting Educational Research

CHAPTER 1
scores are affected by switching to PowerPoint presentations and what students
think about your use of that type of medium. Using a mixture of qualitative and
quantitative methods in one study is perfectly acceptable, and in some cases,
necessary. Your question dictates the methodology or methodologies you should
use! (You’ve heard that before.)
In a study that uses mixed methods, the methods can be used sequentially or
simultaneously (see Figure 1-6). For example, you might initially administer a quantitative
questionnaire to gain information on students’ attitudes toward a specific
content area. You would then use those results to help identify a sample of students
with a range of attitudes from positive to negative to interview for a deeper insight
into the whys of these attitudes. This is referred to as an explanatory design: the
quantitative portion precedes the qualitative data collection. Conversely, you might
follow an exploratory design, carrying out qualitative methods prior to quantitative
methods. You might interview a sample of students first to determine their attitudes
toward a subject and the factors that affect that attitude. After analyzing the data to
determine pertinent themes and patterns, you would use those findings to design
a quantitative questionnaire that could be administered to a larger group of students.
At times your question might require that you collect both types of data
simultaneously or concurrently. You might be integrating technology into your
instruction and you want to determine if (a) this change in methodology will
impact quantitative student achievement and (b) whether students’ behaviors in
class are affected by the implementation of technology. You would use a quantitative
design for the former and a qualitative design for the latter and be conducting both
at the same time. This is referred to as a triangulated design.
In these types of mixed-methods studies, you actually have a two-pronged or
compound research question. One part of the question would be answered using
quantitative methods and the other using qualitative means. You could design the
study as if you are doing two studies, using both types of methods and data
analysis, but base your conclusions on the two sets of findings.
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Explanatory
Quantitative precedes Qualitative
Exploratory
Qualitative precedes Quantitative
Triangulated
Quantitative occurs along with Qualitative
Figure 1-6. Models of mixed methods.
ACTION RESEARCH
There is one other main “body of research.” It is action research. Action research
can be qualitative or quantitative or use mixed methods. It follows the same planning
and guidelines as other types of research. What sets it apart, is that action research