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