What are the strengths of using mixed methods in research?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Combining qualitative and quantitative methods within one research project can strengthen the project’s design by enhancing measurement validity, generalizability, causal validity, or authenticity. At the same time, combining methods creates challenges that may be difficult to overcome and ultimately limit the extent to which these goals are enhanced. This should be your golden rule: The choice of a data collection method should be guided in large part by the aspect of validity that is of most concern and the best method for answering your research question!
None of these methods is superior to the others in all respects, and each varies in its suitability to different research questions and goals. Choosing among them for a particular investigation requires consideration of the research problem, opportunities and resources, prior research, philosophical commitments, and research goals.
True experimental designs are strongest for testing nomothetic causal hypotheses and are most appropriate for studies of treatment effects as well as research questions that are believed to involve basic social/psychological processes. Random assignment reduces the possibility of preexisting differences between treatment and comparison groups to small, specifiable, chance levels, so many of the variables that might create a spurious association are controlled. But despite this clear advantage, an experimental design requires a degree of control that cannot always be achieved in other settings. Researchers may be unable to randomly assign participants to groups or have too few participants to assign to groups, and unfortunately, most field experiments also require more access arrangements and financial resources than can often be obtained. In lieu of these difficulties, quasi- and nonexperimental designs are used, but often at the cost of causal validity.
Surveys typically use standardized, quantitative measures of attitudes, behaviors, or social processes. Closed-ended questions are most common and are well suited for the reliable measurement of variables that have been studied in the past and whose meanings are well understood. Of course, surveys often include measures of many more variables than are included in an experiment, but this feature is not inherent in either design. Many surveys rely on random sampling for their selection of cases from some larger population, and this feature makes them preferable for research that seeks to develop generalizable findings. However, survey questionnaires can only measure what respondents are willing to report; they may not be adequate for studying behaviors or attitudes that are regarded as socially unacceptable. Surveys are also often used to test hypothesized causal relationships. When variables that might create spurious relationships are included in the survey, they can be controlled statistically in the analysis and thus eliminated as rival causal influences.