MUNHUMUTAPA SCHOOL OF COMMERCE

COURSE CODE: RMS101

COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS AND STATISTICS

PROGRAMME: ACCOUNTING

LECTURER: MR R. MAWONIKE

DUE DATE:

MARKS …………………

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ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
a) Answer Question one (1).
b) The answer sheet should be at least three (3) pages long.
c) Include references or bibliography at the end of the assignment using the citation style
used in your Faculty. At least 5 sources in different formats should be consulted.
d) Submit the assignment in typed format: 1.5 line spacing, Times New Roman - font
size 12.
Assignment Question
“The mixed method is the solution to the qualitative-quantitative debate.” Discuss? [100]
The researcher explores on how the mixed method answers the qualitative-quantitative
debate. “Cresswell, (2003) claims that “qualitative research involves the study of phenomena
in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret phenomena in terms of
the meanings people bring to them”. Qualitative approaches to data collection, analysis,
interpretation, and report writing differ from the traditional, quantitative approaches. It uses
words rather than numerical values. Purposeful sampling, collection of open-ended data,
analysis of text or pictures, representation of information in figures and tables, and personal

interpretation of the findings all inform qualitative methods. Pure qualitative research relies
on the collection of qualitative data that is non-numerical data such as words and pictures and
follows the other characteristics of the qualitative research paradigm. The word paradigm can
be used to mean either approach or design.

Qualitative research has its shortcomings and these are:

 Qualitative researchers are concerned primarily with process, rather than outcomes or
products.
 Qualitative researcher approach subjective that is it is based on personal judgement
and uses different methods of collecting information mainly individuals, interviews
and focus groups.
 The qualitative research is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis.
data are mediated through this human instrument, rather than through inventories,
questionnaires, or machines.
 Qualitative research involves fieldwork. The researcher physically goes to the people,
setting, site, or institution to observe or record behaviour in its natural setting.
 Qualitative research is descriptive in that the researcher is interested in process,
meaning, and understanding gained through words or pictures.
 The process of qualitative research is inductive in that the researcher builds
abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and theories from details.

However, the main disadvantage of qualitative approaches to quantity analysis is that their
findings cannot be extended to wider populations with the same degree of certainty that
quantitative analyses can. This is because the findings of the research are not tested to
discover whether they are statistically significant or due to chance such tests is the
Hypothesis testing which uses the null hypothesis (H0) and the alternative hypothesis (H1).

First, the quantitative research approach primarily follows the positive scientific method
because its focus is on hypothesis testing and theory testing. Quantitative researchers
consider it to be of primary importance to state one’s hypotheses and then test those
hypotheses with observed data to see if they are supported. On the other hand, qualitative
research primarily follows the experimental scientific method. Pure quantitative research
relies on the collection of quantitative data that is numerical data and follows the other
characteristics of the quantitative research paradigm or approach.
According to Hancock, (2002) and Hamilton, (2003), “Quantitative research is about
collecting numerical data, making observations and measurements of the phenomena which
can be subjected to statistical analysis, repeated and replicated by the same or other
researchers under similar conditions”.
This means that quantitative methods involve the processes of collecting, analysing,
interpreting, and writing the results of a study. Numerical data are utilised to obtain
information about the world which makes it forma, objective and systematic. It is based on
traditional scientific methods which generates numerical data and usually seeks to establish
relationships or association between, using statistical methods to test the strength hand
significance of the relationships. It is not experimental rather the qualitative research
paradigm.

Quantitative data has the following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:
• Good for gathering descriptive data.
• Can cover a wide range of topics.
• Are relatively inexpensive to use.
• Can be analysed using a variety of existing software.

Disadvantages:
• Self-report may lead to biased reporting.
• Data may provide a general picture but lack depth.
• May not provide adequate information on context.

Shadish,(1993) argues that “the debate with respect to the merits of qualitative versus
quantitative methods is still ongoing in the academic community, but when it comes to the
choice of methods in conducting project evaluations, a pragmatic strategy has been gaining
increased support. Respected practitioners have argued for integrating the two approaches by
putting together packages of the available imperfect methods and theories, which will
minimize biases by selecting the least biased and most appropriate method for each
evaluation subtask.” This means that the mixed approach really solves the problem of using
quantitative or qualitative design especially in evaluating projects. Miles and Huberman
(1994) stress the advantages of linking qualitative and quantitative methods when performing
studies and evaluations, showing how the validity and usefulness of findings will benefit
from this linkage.

Qualitative research is used to describe what is seen locally and sometimes to come up with
or generate new hypotheses and theories. Qualitative research is used when little is known
about a topic and when one wants to discover or learn more about it. It is commonly used to
understand people’s experiences and to express their perspectives. “Researchers advocating
mixed research argue that that it is important to use both the qualitative and the quantitative
methods in one’s research”. (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004).

“In general, mixed methods research represents research that involves collecting, analysing,
and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or in a series of studies that
investigate the same underlying phenomenon” posits Leech, N. and Onwuegbuzie, A. (2008).
Mixed research involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative research methods,
approaches, or other design characteristics.

Creswell and Plano Clark (2007: 5) also supported that

“mixed methods research is a research design with philosophical assumptions as well as

methods of inquiry. As a methodology, it involves philosophical assumptions that guide the
direction of the collection and analysis of data and the mixture of qualitative and quantitative
data in a single study or series of studies. Its central premise is that the use of quantitative and
qualitative approaches in combination provides a better understanding of research problems
that either approach alone”.

Mixed methods involves the collection and “mixing” or integration of both quantitative and
qualitative data in a study. Caracelli and Greene (1997) identifies three typical uses of a
mixed methods study: (1) testing the agreement of findings obtained from different
measuring instruments, (2) clarifying and building on the results of one method with another
method, and (3) demonstrating how the results from one method can impact subsequent
methods or inferences drawn from the results. “These purposes appear in some form in many
mixed methods studies in diverse fields including education”.

In conclusion mixed method resolves the problems of quantitative approach and qualitative
approach single-handedly. However, the exact mixture that is considered appropriate will
depend on the research questions and the situational and practical issues facing a researcher.
Andrew and Halcomb (2006) states that “the purpose of mixed methods research is not to
replace either qualitative or quantitative research, but rather to extract the strengths and
diminish the weaknesses in both approaches within a single study researcher needs to
evaluate the most appropriate methodological approach to answer the specific research
question must clearly elucidate the rationale for using a mixed methods design, rather than a
singularly qualitative or quantitative approach”. Andrew, S. and Halcomb, E. J. (2006) states
that “all three research paradigms are important as we attempt to solve the manifold and
complex problems facing us in the field of education”.

REFERENCES

Andrew, S. and Halcomb, E. J. (2006) Advances in Contemporary Nurse, 23(2), pp 145-153.

Caracelli and Greene (1997), psychology (Todd, Nerlich, McKeown, and Clarke, 2004),
criminology (Maruna, 2010), nursing and health sciences (O’Cathain, 2009), family research
(Greenstein, 2006), and business (Bryman and Bell, 2007).

Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches, (3rd Ed.), Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc.

Creswell, J.W. and Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods
research:5.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hamilton, C.J.H. (2003). Writing research transforming data into text. London, Churchill.

Hancock, B. (2002). Trent Focus for Research and Development in Primary Health Care: An
Introduction to Qualitative Research. Trent Focus Group, University of Nottingham

Johnson, R.B. and Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A

Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educ. Educ. Res.33 (7):14-26

Leech, N. Onwuegbuzie, A. (2008) A typology of mixed methods research designs, Quality

and Quantity, 43(2), March, pp 265-275.

Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new

methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Shadish, W.R. (1993) Program Evaluation: A Pluralistic Enterprise. New Directions for
Program Evaluation, No. 60. San Francisco,CA: Jossey-Bass.