Integrating Analyses in Mixed Methods Research
- Patricia Bazeley - Western Sydney University, Australia
Integrating Analyses in Mixed Methods Research goes beyond mixed methods research design and data collection, providing a pragmatic discussion of the challenges of effectively integrating data to facilitate a more comprehensive and rigorous level of analysis. Showcasing a range of strategies for integrating different sources and forms of data as well as different approaches in analysis, it helps you plan, conduct, and disseminate complex analyses with confidence. Key techniques include:
- Building an integrative framework
- Analysing sequential, complementary and comparative data
- Identifying patterns and contrasts in linked data
- Categorizing, counting, and blending mixed data
- Managing dissonance and divergence
- Transforming analysis into warranted assertions
With clear steps that can be tailored to any project, this book is perfect for students and researchers undertaking their own mixed methods research.
Supplements
Bazeley addresses one of the biggest challenges faced by mixed methods researchers: the integration of data and interpretation of results that come from different data collection methods. She does so in a comprehensive and systematic way that is enhanced by the use of multiple examples that illustrate multiple mixed methods data analysis strategies. Bazeley also includes a diagram for each chapter that guides readers, making it easy to follow the detailed and thoughtful process provided in this important book. In addition, she demonstrates how integration can be accomplished using a variety of software packages, thus making this an excellent guide for the new and advanced mixed methods researcher. Researchers who want to maximize the data from a mixed methods study will find this an invaluable resource.
This is a book on data analysis that mixed methods enthusiasts will give a hearty welcome. Within a framework differentiating sequential and complementary analyses, Pat Bazeley systematically catalogs and richly illustrates multiple strategies for integrative mixed methods data analysis. Thoughtful examples abound that importantly enrich the text.
Bazeley is one of the pioneers of contemporary mixed methods, and writes with authority, clarity, and a wealth of examples that make her latest contribution both cutting-edge and accessible. Data integration is now recognised as the heart of the mixed method enterprise and Bazeley gives the field a definitive treatment of the many approaches, dimensions and issues in integrating mixed methods data for analytic insight.
Pat Bazeley has provided a much-needed, in-depth and thorough treatment of integration in mixed methods as well as the epistemological and practical considerations involved. The combination of accessibility and rigour makes this a useful -- perhaps essential -- text for research students and seasoned mixed methods researchers alike.
Patricia Bazeley has produced a much needed and awaited text which addresses the main issues and controversies around truly integrated mixed methods research. A common criticism of those claiming to be utilising mixed methods research designs is that there appears to be a lack of integration of the qualitative and quantitative data when analysing data and reporting that analysis. This is a very timely book as the mixed methods research community is maturing and and a wide range of disciplines are taking up mixed methods research. As a result the book speaks to a very wide discipline base from behavioural and social sciences, health, nursing and medicine, business and management fields and many other fields such as environmental science, geographic information systems and engineering. In addition the book has value for a wide range of researchers, those who are only just starting to contemplate utilising mixed methods research and those wishing to hone their mixed methods research designs and data analysis techniques.
Patricia is a much respected research methodologist who has decades of research experience and has dedicated her professional life to the development of researchers through her workshops, scholarly activities and research. The contribution of this book to the mixed methods field is significant and will be a long lasting one.
This book provides an excellent introduction into mixed methods research for both early career academics and students. The text is accessible to both quantitative and qualitative researchers, detailing clear guidelines on how and when to integrate data collected via different methods. Although many people claim to conduct mixed methods research, Bazeley shows an in-depth understanding of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis and is therefore able to highlight the strengths and pitfalls of integrating data. Throughout the text, Bazeley provides examples from various researchers that serve to put the theoretical into the actual. Overall, this text provides an excellent ‘how-to’ guide for researchers.
I read this book in two days, almost without stopping. I have 10 years of research and university teaching experience and I have never read such a useful book on research methods. It answered all of my questions. It clarified so many concepts -- with such thorough, competent and honest explanations. The book REALLY helped me deepen my understanding of the field of mixed methods. This is just an absolutely brilliant book.
This text makes a very significant contribution to advancing the understanding of different strategies that can be taken to integrate different sources of data that are built on a well-developed epistemological perspective. It promises to seriously advance the methodological grounding and practice of mixed methods research.
The core strengths of the book lie in its clarity and layout. It is developed to support mixed methods research that makes the most of often disparate data sources, and offers a framework for analysis with clear chapter overviews and diagrams in each section.
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This is a valuable resource for the social researcher, policy analyst or policy development professional who is looking for a primer in research methods in a landscape where mixed methods is becoming increasingly important.
This is a valuable resource for the social researcher, policy analyst or policy development professional who is looking for a primer in research methods in a landscape where mixed methods is becoming increasingly important and recognised.