Integrating methods in applied research in social policy: a case study of carers

Abstract

This chapter describes an example of social policy research in which qualitative and quantitative approaches were used simultaneously during data collection, and some measure of integration in analysis was also achieved. It presents a case study in policy research, where qualitative and quantitative techniques were mixed in data collection and in analysis, albeit in relatively simple ways. The analysis of interviews with a group of parents caring for disabled young adults will be used as a case study in integrating qualitative and quantitative analysis. All interviews were tape-recorded and the interviewers were full members of the research team, employed on academic-related pay scales, in recognition of the fact that qualitative interviewing requires substantive knowledge of the area as well as technical skills. The chapter shows the ways in which existing quantitative data influenced the process of qualitative analysis, and in which qualitative data were used to cast light on the failure to find an expected statistical relationship.