Description

The use of mixed methods by Chinese scholars in East China: A case study

YUCHUN ZHOU AND JOHN W CRESWELL

Quantitative, Qualitative, and Psychometric Methods, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

Abstract

Since mixed methods research began as an Anglo-American movement (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011), there is little information about how it has emerged in non-Western cultural contexts such as East Asia and China. Without this knowledge, a gap in understanding occurs about the diffusion and expansion of mixed methods in some of the most populous cultures in the world. The objective of this qualitative case study is to present a detailed analysis of how mixed methods is being used by Chinese scholars in the region of East China. Five themes emerged from the inductive coding. These were the need for using mixed methods, the designs, the current status of the use, the ways to improve the use, and the contextual factors influence the expansion of mixed methods in China. With mixed methods research increasingly attracting worldwide attention, this discussion makes a unique contribution by exploring its expansion into Mainland China.

Keywords: mixed methods research, the use of methods, case study, East China