Mixing quantitative and qualitative research approach in social sciences - mixing methods or methodology?

Abstract

While in the western world the mixed-methods approach in social sciences is becoming more popular, in Croatian social sciences mixed methods research is still scarce. This is probably due to the complexity of mixed-methods research and numerous questions related to it. The most common questions that researchers need to answer prior to conducting a mixed methods study are: 1) will my research mix methods or methodologies?, 2) if it will mix methodologies, and not only methods, which paradigm(s) and research design will I use?, and 3) is it at all possible to combine inherently different paradigms? The main aim of this paper is to examine whether there is a strategy to simplify the way the existing literature describes numerous possibilities of combining qualitative and quantitative research - especially in terms of the type of mix-method research and whether each type mixes methods or methodologies. Following a literature review on the characteristics of mixed-- methods approach, types of mix-method design and paradigmatic challenges, this paper proposes a simplified model of the existing possibilities for combining qualitative and quantitative research. The model argues that, depending on their research questions, all mixed-methods attempts can be divided into one of the two main categories: one that mixes methods, and the other that mixes methodologies. The proposed model offers a straightforward tool for planning a mixed-methods research.