Week 5 – Discussion

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Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

 When Should Mixed Methods Be Used?

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapters 1 and 2 of the Hesse-Biber e-book, Mixed Methods Research: Merging Theory with Practice, and the two required articles for this week. Mixed methods is a current popular methodology. While this type of methodology is useful for some studies, because of its dual nature as both quantitative and qualitative, it is not effective or appropriate for all research.

For this discussion, you will consider the use of mixed methods for the topic you have chosen for your Research Proposal. In your initial post, apply the scientific method to your research topic by defining your research question and determining the method(s) necessary to answer that question. Compare the characteristics and appropriate uses of the different methods and explain if your research question could best be answered through qualitative or quantitative methods, or a mix of both. Identify the dominant method (quantitative or qualitative) for your proposed study. Explain whether or not a mixed methods approach is the best way to study the topic, demonstrating that the second method is not added as an afterthought or merely to impress journal editors who favor mixed methods. If you have decided not to use mixed methods, explain why the study is best completed with either a quantitative or qualitative focus. Justify your design choice and support your position with scholarly sources. Include a discussion explaining how you would apply ethical principles to your design to address concerns which may impact your research.