Abstract

Combining methods in social scientific research has recently gained momentum through a research strand called Mixed Methods Research (MMR). This approach, which explicitly aims to offer a framework for combining methods, has rapidly spread through the social and behavioural sciences, and this article offers an analysis of the approach from a field theoretical perspective. After a brief outline of the MMR program, we ask how its recent rise can be understood. We then delve deeper into some of the specific elements that constitute the MMR approach, and we engage critically with the assumptions that underlay this particular conception of using multiple methods. We conclude by offering an alternative view regarding methods and method use.

Details

Title
Mixed methods research: what it is and what it could be
Author
Timans, Rob 1 ; Wouters, Paul 2 ; Heilbron, Johan 3 

 Erasmus Centre for Economic Sociology (ECES), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands 
 Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands 
 Erasmus Centre for Economic Sociology (ECES), Rotterdam and Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique de la Sorbonne (CESSP-CNRS-EHESS), Paris, France 
Pages
193-216
Publication year
2019
Publication date
Apr 2019
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
03042421
e-ISSN
15737853
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2199611754
Copyright
Theory and Society is a copyright of Springer, (2019). All Rights Reserved., © 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.