Merging Qualitative and Quantitative Data in Mixed Methods Research: How To and Why Not

Authors

David L. Driscoll, Senior Public Health Scientist, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle park, NC 27709Follow
Afua Appiah-Yeboah, Health Analyst, RTI International
Philip Salib, Health Analyst, RTI International
Douglas J. Rupert, Research Associate, RTI International

Date of this Version

2007

Comments

Published in Ecological and Environmental Anthropology Vol. 3, No. 1, 2007. Copyright © 2007 Driscoll, Appiah-Yeboah, Salib, and Rupert. Used by permission. Online at http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/index

Abstract

This study assesses the utility of mixed methods designs that integrate qualitative and quantitative data through a transformative process. Two strategies for collecting qualitative and quantitative datasets are described, and processes by which they can be merged are presented in detail. Some of the benefits of mixed methods designs are summarized and the shortcomings and challenges inherent in quantitizing qualitative data in mixed methods research are delineated.