title: Quantitative and qualitative research: beyond the debate.
abstract: Psychology has been a highly quantitative field since its conception as a science. However, a qualitative approach to psychological research has gained increasing importance in the last decades, and an enduring debate between quantitative and qualitative approaches has arisen. The recently developed Mixed Methods Research (MMR) addresses this debate by aiming to integrate quantitative and qualitative approaches. This article outlines and discusses quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research approaches with specific reference to their (1) philosophical foundations (i.e. basic sets of beliefs that ground inquiry), (2) methodological assumptions (i.e. principles and formal conditions which guide scientific investigation), and (3) research methods (i.e. concrete procedures for data collection, analysis and interpretation). We conclude that MMR may reasonably overcome the limitation of purely quantitative and purely qualitative approaches at each of these levels, providing a fruitful context for a more comprehensive psychological research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychotherapeutic Sciences, Sigmund Freud University-Vienna, Schnirchgasse 9a, 1030 Vienna, Austria. omar.gelo@sfu.ac.at
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gelo
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Braakmann
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benetka
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes; D019222:Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011584:Psychology / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic
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