QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE AND MIXED METHOD APPROCHES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO

Authors: Marija Lončar

Paper categorization: Review paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.38003/sv.74.2.6

Paper: QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE AND MIXED METHOD APPROCHES IN SOCIAL RESEARCH: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO

Abstract:

In the analysis and study of social phenomena, researchers face numerous methodological decisions related to the characteristics and specifics of methodological approaches. In this paper, they are considered as ways of thinking about research design and strategies for its implementation, that is, about research methods, which also encompass certain paradigmatic
questions. In other words, methodological decisions regarding the use of a particular research method are not only related to the data collection phase but also imply broader (paradigmatic) discussions concerning researchers’ views on the nature of social reality and forms of valid knowledge. Therefore, the (post)positivist and constructivist paradigms, as well as pragmatism, which
is traditionally associated with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method approaches, play important roles in theoretical‒methodological discussions about quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research and the criteria for
evaluating research.

Keywords:

methodological approaches, research methods, paradigms, criteria for evaluating research