Description

Using inferences to evaluate the value added of mixed methods research: a content analysis

Elizabeth G. Creamer+ and Chosang Tendhar++

+Educational Research & Evaluation, School of Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA;

++Division of Educational Evaluation and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

ABSTRACT

Content analysis was used to explore a way to measure the value added of mixed methods research by comparing the quantity and types of inferences drawn by authors of research articles using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Qualitative coding of a matched sample of 51 articles yielded 473 inferences in 8 categories and 4 clusters. No justification was found to support the argument that the three methods are distinguishable by inferential quality. These results have methodological significance because they challenge the accuracy of distinguishing qualitative research as high inference and quantitative research as low inference.

KEYWORDS: Mixed methods; content analysis; interpretive rigor; inferential quality