Science is characterized by empirical research all phenomena can be reduced to empirical indicators which represent the truth. The quantitative paradigm is based on positivism. Rather, based on the paradigmatic differences concerning the phenomenon under study, we propose a “new” solution for using mixed-methods in research that we believe is both methodologically and philosophically sound. The information presented in this paper is not new in the sense that we are making a “new” case for or against the debate. Evidence of this is reflected by the notion that quantitative methods cannot access some of the phenomena that health researchers are interested in, such as lived experiences as a patient, social interactions, and the patients’ perspective of doctor-patient interactions.
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In fact, based on their paradigmatic assumptions, the two methods do not study the same phenomena. Despite the arguments presented for integrating methods, we will demonstrate that each of these methods is based on a particular paradigm, a patterned set of assumptions concerning reality (ontology), knowledge of that reality (epistemology), and the particular ways of knowing that reality (methodology) ( Guba, 1990). In short, the philosophical distinctions between them have become so blurred that researchers are left with the impression that the differences between the two are merely technical ( Smith and Heshius, 1986).Ĭombining qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study is widely practiced and accepted in many areas of health care research. We believe that mixed-methods research is now being adopted uncritically by a new generation of researchers who have overlooked the underlying assumptions behind the qualitative-quantitative debate. However, just because they are often combined does not mean that it is always appropriate to do so. According to Carey (1993), quantitative and qualitative techniques are merely tools integrating them allows us to answer questions of substantial importance. Some people would say that we are beyond the debate and can now freely use mixed- method designs to carry out relevant and valuable research. In addition, we present what we believe to be a fundamental point in this debate. In this paper, we revisit the quantitative-qualitative debate which flourished in the 1970s and 1980s and review the arguments for and against using mixed-methods. As many critics have noted, this is not without its problems.
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Health care research includes many studies that combine quantitative and qualitative methods, as seen in numerous articles and books published in the last decade ( Caracelli and Greene, 1993 Caracelli and Riggin, 1994 Casebeer and Verhoef, 1997 Datta, 1997 Droitcour, 1997 Greene and Caracelli, 1997 House, 1994 Morgan, 1998 Morse, 1991 Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998).