ERIC Number: EJ886130
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1077-8004
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Using Numbers in Qualitative Research
Maxwell, Joseph A.
Qualitative Inquiry, v16 n6 p475-482 2010
The use of numerical/quantitative data in qualitative research studies and reports has been controversial. Prominent qualitative researchers such as Howard Becker and Martyn Hammersley have supported the inclusion of what Becker called "quasi-statistics": simple counts of things to make statements such as "some," "usually," and "most" more precise. However, others have resisted such uses, particularly when they are requested by reviewers for journals. This paper presents both the advantages of integrating quantitative information in qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting, and the potential problems created by such uses and how these can be dealt with. It also addresses the definition of mixed methods research, arguing that the use of numbers by itself doesn't make a study "mixed methods."
Descriptors: Qualitative Research, Methods Research, Statistical Data, Data Collection, Data Analysis, Research Reports, Use Studies, Research Problems, Research Methodology, Multitrait Multimethod Techniques
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
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Author Affiliations: N/A