Weaving an interpretivist stance throughout mixed methods research

ABSTRACT

A recurring debate in mixed methods research involves the relationship between research methods and research paradigms. Whereas some scholars appear to assume that qualitative and quantitative research methods each necessarily belong with particular research paradigms, others have called for greater flexibility and have taken a variety of stances toward the integration of paradigms and methods in mixed-method studies. In this article, we review these arguments and stances, positioning ourselves in favour of flexible (but intentional) integration of any research method with any research paradigm. We then draw on a recent study of teachers’ experiences of professional development to provide an illustration of how a single paradigm can be used to inform the entirety of a mixed methods study, including study design, data collection, analysis and reporting. This illustration is particularly noteworthy since past mixed-method studies that have been grounded in a single paradigm have typically used the post-positivist paradigm, whereas our study involved an interpretive stance and a social constructivist epistemology. This article may, therefore, provide a useful resource for those considering the design of mixed methods studies as well as a practical demonstration to support theoretical claims in support of moving away from binary methods–paradigm associations and assumptions.

KEYWORDS:

• Mixed methods research
• interpretivist paradigm
• cross-cultural research
• social constructivist research
• paradigm
• teacher voice
• professional development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Katrina McChesney http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3991-6265

Jill Aldridge http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0742-0473

Notes

1. For the purposes of both the original study and the present article, the term professional development refers to ‘any activities that caused, or were intended to cause, teacher learning. These activities may have been planned, spontaneous, formal, or informal’ (McChesney 2017, 32).

2. A further objective related to the development and validation of the questionnaire used in the main survey. As this was a methodological objective that served as a ‘stepping stone’ (by providing a survey tool suitable for use to conduct the intended research), it is not discussed further in this article; we refer interested readers to McChesney (2017) and McChesney and Aldridge (2018).

3. Based on the similarities and differences in the professional development provision for different groups of teachers in the research context, the target population was defined as teachers of English, mathematics or science subjects (including middle school science and high school biology, chemistry, geology, physics) at Grades 6—12 in public schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported in this article was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Programme Scholarship and a Curtin University PhD Completion Scholarship.