Taken from: Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches, 2010. R. B. Johnson & L. B.
Christensen. Los Angeles: Sage
Publication
Research paradigm
A perspective based on a set of assumptions, concepts, and
values that are held by a community of researchers
Characteristics of research paradigms
Quantitative research
Research that relies on primarily
the collection of quantitative data
Qualitative research
Research that relies on primarily
the collection of qualitative data
Mixed Research
Research that involves the mixing
of quantitative and qualitative methods or paradigm characteristics
Determinism
All events have a cause
Probabilistic causes
Causes that usually produce an
outcome
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Quantitative
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Mixed
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Qualitative
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Scientific
method
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Deductive or “top-down”
The researcher test hypotheses and theory with data
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Deductive & inductive
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Inductive or “bottom-up”
The researcher generates new hypotheses and grounded theory from data
collected during fieldwork
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View
of human behaviour
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Behaviour is regular & predictable
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Behaviour is somewhat predictable
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Behaviour is fluid, dynamic, situational, social, contextual &
personal
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Most
common research objectives
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Description, explanation, and prediction
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Multiple objectives
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Description, exploration, discovery
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Focus
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Narrow-angle lens, testing specific hypotheses
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Multilens focus
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Wide angle, deep angle lens, examining the breadth and depth of the
phenomena to learn more about them
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Nature
of observation
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Attempt to study behaviour under controlled circumstances
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Study behaviour in more than one context or condition
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Study behaviour in natural environments, study the context in which
the behaviour occurs
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Nature
of reality
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Objective (different observers agree on what has been observed)
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Common-sense realism and pragmatic view of the world (what works is
real and true)
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Subjective, personal and socially constructed
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Form
of data collected
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Collect quantitative data based on precise measurement using
structured and validated data collection instruments (close-ended items,
rating scales, behavioural responses)
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Multiple forms
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Collect qualitative data (in-depth interviews, participant
observation, field notes, open-ended questions) The researcher is the primary
data collection instrument
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Nature
of data
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Variables
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Mixture of variables, words, images
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Words, images, categories
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Data
analysis
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Identify statistical relationships
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Quantitative and qualitative
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Search for patterns, themes, holistic features
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Results
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Generalizable findings
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Corroborated findings may generalize
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Particularistic findings. Representation of the insider (emic)
viewpoint. Present multiple perspectives.
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Form
of final report
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Statistical report (correlations, comparisons of means, reporting of
statistical significance)
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Eclectic and pragmatic
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Narrative report with contextual description and direct quotations
from research participants
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Quantitative Research Methods: Experimental &
Non-Experimental
Variables
Variable
A characteristic or a condition
that can take on different values or categories it is a set
Constant
A single value or category of a
variable that remains the same
Quantitative variable
A variable that varies in degree or
amount (eg income)
Categorical variable
A variable that varies in type or
kind (eg gender)
Independent variable (IV)
A variable that is presumed to
cause a change in another variable (a causal variable)
Dependent Variable (DV)
A variable that is presumed to be
influenced by one or more independent variables (the effect or outcome
variable)
Cause and effect relationship
Relationship in which one variable
affects another variable
Intervening / Mediating variable
A variable that occurs between two
other variables and helps to delineate the process through which variables
affect one another
Moderator Variable
A variable that changes the
relationship between the other variables
Experimental research
Experimental research
Research in which the researcher manipulates the Independent
Variable
Manipulation
An intervention studied by the experimenter
Extraneous Variable
A variable that may compete with the independent variable in
explaining the outcome
Confounding variable
A type of extraneous variable that was not controlled for
and is the reason a particular “confounded” result is observed
RANDOM ASSIGNMENT IS ESSENTIAL TO EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AND
AVOIDS CONFOUNDING VARIABLES APPEARING
Non-Experimental research
Non-Experimental research
Research in which random assignment to groups is not
possible and there is no manipulation of the independent variable
Causal-comparative research
A form of experimental research in which the primary
independent variable of interest is a categorical variable
Correlational research
A form of non-experimental research in which the primary
independent variable of interest is a quantitative variable
Correlation coefficient
An index that index the strength and the direction of the
relationship between two variables
Positive correlation
The situation when score on two variables tend to move in
the same direction
Negative correlation
The situation when scores on two variables tend to move in
opposite directions
Phenomenology
A form of qualitative research in which the researcher
attempts to understand how one or more individuals experience a phenomenon
Ethnography
A form of qualitative research focussed on describing the
culture of a group of people
Culture
The shared attitudes, values, norms, practices, patterns of
interaction, perspectives and language of a group of people
Holistic approach
The description of how members of a group interact and how
they come together to make up the group as a whole
Case study research
Focuses on providing a detailed account of one or more cases
Grounded theory research
Generating and developing a theory from the data that the
researcher collects
Historical research
From events in the past
Mixed Research Methods
Mixed Method Research
Use a qualitative paradigm for one phase of the research
study and a quantitative paradigm for another part
Can be concurrent or sequential but they are separate as such
(you carry through the research process in one style only and then proceed to
the other style or combine the results of the two)
Mixed Model Research
Both quan. methods and qual. methods are used within a stage
or across stages (ie within the same study the styles are mixed)
Advantages
Fundamental principle of mixed research
Advises researchers to mix research methods or procedures in
a way that the resulting mixture or combination has complementary strengths and
non-overlapping weaknesses
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