Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: : The discussion of qualitative or quantitative approaches has been going on for many years. One way to reduce the most dogmatic standings is to use mixed methods consisting of combinations of qualitative and quantitative approaches. In this paper, we have analysed usage experiences from combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in different ways. We refer to these combinations as method configurations. Our findings point out that a researcher should commence with a qualitative approach when: 1) the researcher has a lower pre-knowledge of phenomenon to be studied, 2) the phenomenon to be studied is abstract and 3) there is an uncertainty if the questions asked are the right questions. On the contrary, there is a tendency in our results that the researcher should start with a quantitative study when 1) the researcher has a good pre-knowledge of the phenomenon or 2) the phenomenon is more concrete.
Authors: Stefan Cronholm, Anders Hjalmarsson
Institution: University of Borås
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W132064364