THE APPLICATION AND IMPLICATION OF COMBINING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: A THIRD METHODOLOGICAL MOVEMENT IN CONTEXT

Abstract

Scholarly interest has increased in Mixed Methods Research (MMR) which has been christened the third methodological movement. The field of MMR has evolved its own methodological, theoretical, philosophical, analytical, and practical basics and constructs for conducting a Mixed Methods Study. Conducting research and gathering data in the behavioural sciences where the phenomena of investigation are majorly linked to human activities requires that the methodological approach be exhaustive and rich enough to enable valid generalizations. It is in this wise that the paper examines the relevance, applicability, and process of mixing methods and their usefulness in social research. It seeks to familiarize social scientists with the rudiments of mixing both qualitative and quantitative data in a single study, the rationale for mixing, the designs, as well as the steps involved. The descriptive approach was utilized for the study methodically and chronologically which ensured an adequate understanding of the subject of interest. The paper concludes that mixed methods research is desirable for superior evidence and valid generalizations. Thus, to add strength to strength and enrich data gathering in a social investigation, a more Mixed Methods Research study is advocated in the social sciences.