Page 131 - Crossing Cultural Boundaries - Cees den Teuling

3.3.1 Mixed Method Research
When having thought of a research question, the obvious next problem is how to answer it, that is, to design the research. As a reaction to the controversies and discussions, a “Third Methodological Movement” evolved as a pragmatic way of combining the qualities and strengths of both “schools”.
The “Third Methodological Movement” has a unique nature of the design and implementation of separate directions in research methods. It is a distinct methodology, apart from the quantitative and qualitative approaches, which deserves to be given a separate status. This approach has already been used by eminent scholars, such as Campbell and Fiske (1959) and Denzin (1978), as a pre-notion for “mixed methods”, evolved from triangulation, e.g. the combination of information from different sources of data (Jick, 1979). During the last decade of the twentieth century, research with the usage of mixed methods has been conducted in full extent in applied research directions such as management, organisational and cultural studies.
In this study, the following definition of the Mixed Method Research (MMR) is accepted:
“A mixed method study involves the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data sequentially or prioritised, and involve the integration of the data at one or more stages in the process of the research” (Teddlie &Tashakkori, 2003, p. 212).
This definition leaves several additional questions and does not consider a theoretical framework to create the foundation for a larger vision, driving the study.
Several aspects, which have an influence on the design and processes of a study with the application of MMR are: Timing, Weighting, Mixing, and Theorising.
Timing: data collection can be carried out sequentially or concurrently, based on the intent of the researcher and the practical implications of the collected data. For the current research the data collection is carried out sequentially. Priority is given to the distribution of the digital questionnaires and the incoming responses of the participants, followed by the focus group sessions (qualitative) in which the outcomes of the quantitative research (questionnaires) is discussed, controlled, defined and concluded.
Another factor, influencing design procedures is Weighting or prioritising the qualitative or quantitative research in the study. Depending on the interest of the researcher and possibly the interest of stakeholders, the weight might be equal or it might emphasize the one approach more than the other. Mixing the data is executable in
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