- Qualitative Research
- Quantitative Research
- Mixed Methods Research
Qualitative Research gathers data about lived experiences, emotions or behaviours, and the meanings individuals attach to them. It assists in enabling researchers to gain a better understanding of complex concepts, social interactions or cultural phenomena. This type of research is useful in the exploration of how or why things have occurred, interpreting events and describing actions.
Quantitative Research gathers numerical data which can be ranked, measured or categorised through statistical analysis. It assists with uncovering patterns or relationships, and for making generalisations. This type of research is useful for finding out how many, how much, how often, or to what extent.
Mixed Methods Research integrates both Qualitative and Quantitative Research. It provides a holistic approach combining and analysing the statistical data with deeper contextualised insights. Using Mixed Methods also enables Triangulation,or verification, of the data from two or more sources.
Finding Mixed Methods research in the Databases
- PubMed - there are nosuitable MeSH terms for mixed methods research in Medline. Search your topic with the following suggested freetext keywords using the quotation marks and truncation symbol*:
“mixed model*” OR “mixed design*” OR “multiple method*” OR multimethod* OR triangulat*
CINAHL -the following Subject Headingsmay be of use: Multimethod Studies or Triangulation. You can also include in your searchthe following free text keywords:mixed model*,mixed design*, multiple method*, multimethod*, or triangulat*.
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