An Uneasy Alliance: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

The paper describes the difficulties encountered in trying to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods in a study of the relationship between moral reasoning and teenage drug use. Four problems that arose in the attempt to reduce qualitative data to a quantitative format are described....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health education & behavior 1992, Vol.19 (1), p.117-135
Main Author: Buchanan, David R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Attitude to Health
Biological and medical sciences
Data Interpretation
Decision Making
Drug and Narcotic Control - legislation & jurisprudence
General aspects
Health Promotion - standards
Health Services Research - methods
Health Services Research - organization & administration
Health Services Research - standards
Humans
Illegal Drug Use
Inferences
Interviews
Logic
Medical sciences
Moral Development
Morals
Organizational Objectives
Planification. Prevention (methods). Intervention. Evaluation
Psychology, Adolescent
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Qualitative Research
Research Problems
San Francisco
Social Values
Statistical Analysis
Substance-Related Disorders - prevention & control
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
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Summary:The paper describes the difficulties encountered in trying to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods in a study of the relationship between moral reasoning and teenage drug use. Four problems that arose in the attempt to reduce qualitative data to a quantitative format are described. These problems are: (1) making analytic sense of singular responses; (2) a mistaken logical inference that demands that each pattern of judgment should have discrete behavioral indicators; (3) the construction and use of ideal types; and (4) making analytic sense of universal responses. The roots of these problems are then traced to the underlying philosophical premises that distinguish the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms. The implications of the different goals, assumptions, and standards of evaluation informing each of the respective methods for future research are discussed.
ISSN:0195-8402
1090-1981
1552-6127
2732-5601
DOI:10.1177/109019819201900108