Using Mixed-Methods Sequential Explanatory Design: From Theory to Practice
Top Cited Papers
- 1 February 2006
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Field Methods
- Vol. 18 (1), 3-20
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822x05282260
Abstract
This article discusses some procedural issues related to the mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, which implies collecting and analyzing quantitative and then qualitative data in two consecutive phases within one study. Such issues include deciding on the priority or weight given to the quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis in the study, the sequence of the data collection and analysis, and the stage/stages in the research process at which the quantitative and qualitative data are connected and the results are integrated. The article provides a methodological overview of priority, implementation, and mixing in the sequential explanatory design and offers some practical guidance in addressing those issues. It also outlines the steps for graphically representing the procedures in a mixed-methods study. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory study of doctoral students’ persistence in a distance-learning program in educational leadership is used to illustrate the methodological discussion.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Mixed methods research designs in counseling psychology.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2005
- Should I Stay or Should I Go? Student Descriptions of the Doctoral Attrition ProcessThe Review of Higher Education, 2000
- Determining Validity in Qualitative InquiryTheory Into Practice, 2000
- Mixed-Method ResearchPublished by Elsevier BV ,1999
- Evaluation of 37 AIDS Prevention Projects: Successful Approaches and Barriers to Program EffectivenessHealth Education Quarterly, 1996
- Data Analysis Strategies for Mixed-Method Evaluation DesignsEducational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1993
- In Pursuit of the PhDPublished by Walter de Gruyter GmbH ,1992
- How much does schooling influence general intelligence and its cognitive components? A reassessment of the evidence.Developmental Psychology, 1991
- Toward a Conceptual Framework for Mixed-Method Evaluation DesignsEducational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1989
- Dropouts and turnover: The synthesis and test of a causal model of student attritionResearch in Higher Education, 1980