Mixed methods studies in social sciences are predominantly employed to explore broad, complex, and multifaceted issues and to evaluate policies and interventions. The integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in social sciences most often follows the Peircean pragmatic approach--abductive hypothesis formation followed by deductive and…

In mixed methods approaches, statistical models are used to identify "nested" cases for intensive, small-n investigation for a range of purposes, including notably the examination of causal mechanisms. This article shows that under a commonsense interpretation of causal effects, large-n models allow no reliable conclusions about effect…

Mixed methods, cross-cultural designs are a special case of the more general, mixed methods between-groups designs. The defining feature of mixed methods is the principled integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches, and cross-cultural comparison is premised on the systematic collection and analysis of data from two or more cultural…

Between-subject design surveys are a powerful means of gauging public opinion, but critics rightly charge that closed-ended questions only provide slices of insight into issues that are considerably more complex. Qualitative research enables richer accounts but inevitably includes coder bias and subjective interpretations. To mitigate these…

Whereas the significance and potential impacts of messiness in mixed methods research have been well acknowledged, the literature on mixed methods research has accumulated few examples of engaging and navigating mess. This article provides an account of the nitty-gritty of messiness and its consequences during the process of mixed methods…

The articles in this special issue of the "Journal of Cognition and Development" examine the cognitive development of children who are following typical and atypical developmental pathways. The articles offer a mixture of theory-based considerations, reviews of the literature, and new empirical data addressing fundamental aspects of…

The centrality of education in the pursuit of better economic and social prosperity is now well established. The dominance of human capital theory, which provides a strong argument for better education as a key factor in fuelling economic growth, has encouraged policy makers, in various countries, to focus on education reform as a key priority and…

In this paper, the writer discusses the philosophical underpinnings of the two dominant research methods in social sciences; quantitative and qualitative paradigms. The natures of two paradigms are quite different so this leads many researchers to discuss these issues in a comparative way. This paper tackles the knowledge and understanding of…