Abstract
In this article, we present mixed methods data analysis in educational research as a process of case development. We define a case as a theoretical construct that is developed through iterative and spiraling cycles of interaction between ideas and evidence. On a larger scale, cases develop over a period of several years or even decades, involving many studies. But cases also develop within a much smaller timescale, within studies. Development of cases within mixed methods studies is the theme of this article. We define the purpose for any mixed methods study as to acquire detailed insight into the case, subcases, and the way the subcases are moderated. Developing a case starts with identifying a phenomenon that will be the object of research. A phenomenon can be investigated empirically once researchers are able to identify specific contexts, localized in time and space, in which the phenomenon occurs. At that point, an underdeveloped case has come into being, and the specific contexts in which the case occurs are called instantiations of the case. Connected to each case are claims, statements about the case that are used to describe the case more precisely and to distinguish cases from non-cases. Developing these claims is the aim of the analysis processes. Case development includes three different research processes—namely, resolving a controversial case, developing subcases, and developing a moderated case. Case development typically occurs in this order; however, each of these processes can but do not need to be present. When cases develop, they typically become controversial for some time. Some research studies support a specific claim, while other research studies refute this claim. Next to claims that apply to all instantiations of a case, claims may be developed that apply to only some of the case’s instantiations. In that case, claims are used to distinguish subcases. A moderated case is developed when researchers come to understand under which circumstances their claim does and does not apply, which leads to their subcases. This is called “moderation” of their claim.
Highlights
This article examines data analysis in mixed methods educational research, referred to as mixed analysis
Different from the textbooks example, the ESL example started as a controversial case, and the ESL example contributed to the controversy: Lee and Greene’s (2007) purpose was to understand the predictive value of scores on an English as a second language (ESL) test—the Computerized Enhanced ESL Placement Test (CEEPT)—for international graduate students at a large public university in the United States in relation to their academic performance —measured as Grade Point Average (GPA)—and their language difficulties in courses during their first semester
Most importantly, they depend on the status of a case as either a controversial case, a collection of subcases, or a moderated case
Summary
Reviewed by: Joseph Alex Maxwell, George Mason University, United States María Cruz Sánchez-Gómez, University of Salamanca, Spain. We present mixed methods data analysis in educational research as a process of case development. Development of cases within mixed methods studies is the theme of this article. Connected to each case are claims, statements about the case that are used to describe the case more precisely and to distinguish cases from non-cases Developing these claims is the aim of the analysis processes. A moderated case is developed when researchers come to understand under which circumstances their claim does and does not apply, which leads to their subcases. This is called “moderation” of their claim
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