Mixing Methods in Psychology: The Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Theory and Practice

by Mckeown; Suzanne

• ISBN13: 9780415186490
• ISBN10: 0415186498
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-09-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

Can qualitative and quantitative methods be combined effectively in psychology? What are the practical and theoretical issues involved? Should different criteria be used to judge qualitative and quantitative research? The acceptance of qualitative research methods in psychology has lead to a split between qualitative and quantitative methods and has raised questions about how best to assess the validity of research practice. While the two approaches have traditionally been seen as competing paradigms, more recently, researchers have begun to argue that the divide is artificial. Mixing Methods in Psychology looks in detail at the problems involved in attempting to reconcile qualitative and quantitative methods both within and across subjects. All angles of the debate are discussed, covering areas as diverse as health, education, social, clinical and economic psychology. The contributors, who are some of the leading figures in the field, present theoretical and methodological guidance aswell as practical examples of how quantitative and qualitative methods can be fruitfully combined. By aiming to bridge the gap between the two methods, this book reveals how each can inform the other to produce more accurate theories and models of human behaviour.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	vii
List of contributors	ix
PART I Theoretical and historiographical foundations	1	(58)
1 Introduction	3	(14)
ZAZIE TODD, BRIGITTE NERLICH, AND SUZANNE McKEOWN
2 Coming full (hermeneutic) circle: The controversy about psychological methods	17	(20)
BRIGITTE NERLICH
3 Reinventing validity: Reflections on principles and practices from beyond the quality-quantity divide	37	(22)
KAREN HENWOOD
PART II Mixing it up	59	(62)
4 Discursive analysis and the interpretation of statistics	61	(20)
ROM HARRÉ AND DAVID CRYSTAL
5 "Structured judgement methods" - the best of both worlds?	81	(20)
DAVID D. CLARKE
6 Q methodology and qualiquantology: The example of discriminating between emotions	101	(20)
PAUL STENNER AND REX STAINTON ROGERS
PART III Examples of mixed method research	121	(64)
7 Valuing the "value of life": A case of constructed preferences?	123	(26)
SUSAN CHILTON, JUDITH COVEY, LORRAINE HOPKINS, MICHAEL JONES-LEE, GRAHAM LOOMES, NICK PIDGEON, ANGELA ROBINSON, AND ANNE SPENCER
8 Method and methodology in interpretive studies of cognitive life	149	(20)
KATIE VANN AND MICHAEL COLE
9 Integrating survey and focus group research: A case study of attitudes of English and German language learners	169	(16)
ZAZIE TODD AND MARGARITA LOBECK
PART IV Mixed methods within the discipline	185	(54)
10 Educational psychology and difficult pupil behaviour: Qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods?	187	(20)
ANDY MILLER
11 Taking quality seriously: The case for qualitative feminist psychology in the context of quantitative clinical research on postnatal depression	207	(24)
PAULA NICOLSON
12 Future directions	231	(8)
ZAZIE TODD AND BRIGITTE NERLICH
Further reading	239	(2)
Author index	241	(6)
Subject index	247