What types of questions does mixed methods research design answer?
Mixed methods research designs are usually opted when a research question cannot be addressed merely by focusing on deduction, confirmation, theory/hypothesis testing, explanation, prediction, standardized data collection, and statistical analysis. Instead, all these aspects need to be supplemented by the characteristics of qualitative research, such as induction, discovery, exploration, theory/ hypothesis generation, data collection by researcher, and qualitative analysis as well. For instance, when a research problem requires more insight into one/several of its findings by going beyond the statistical data yielded by the study, adding qualitative interviews could be justifiably added as a manipulation check. Such a measure could also provide a scope to directly discuss the issues that are being investigated by tapping into the participants’ perspectives, thereby helping the researcher to avoid weaknesses typically found in mono-method studies.
