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The methodologies associated with each of these epistemologies and their respective theoretical perspectives can be broadly categorised into

qualitative and quantitative research. The choice of methodology is

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and qualitative research answer different questions, and produce different forms of knowledge with the essential focus of quantitative research being confirmatory, whilst qualitative research addresses predominantly

exploratory questions (Teddlie & Tashakkori 2009).

3.6.1. Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is situated primarily within the objectivist epistemology (with a theoretical perspective of positivist / post positivist) and uses an array of techniques to collect, analyse and present numerical data (Teddlie & Tashakkori 2009).The purpose of quantitative research is commonly to confirm but may also be to explore the current knowledge base of the

research phenomenon under investigation. This model requires a hypothesis or quantitative research question be posed and tested using statistical

techniques. The use of statistical techniques and analyses is directly linked to the research design and the methods used to collect the data. Quantitative research uses experimental, correlational and survey designs. Underpinning these research designs is the use of probability sampling, which involves the random selection of participants from the target population (Teddlie &

Tashakkori 2009). Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques are used to analyse the data. The purpose of descriptive analysis is to provide an overview of and describe the relationship between the variables.

Inferential statistics provide a way of "..making inferences from samples to

populations." More specifically inferential statistics involves the testing of

difference between group means or the relationship between variables and the trustworthiness of those differences. (Teddlie & Tashakkori 2009).

3.6.2. Qualitative Research

Qualitative research aligns within a constructionist epistemology and using narrative data employs inductive reasoning that is, a process of generating theory from data, rather than testing theory as in the case of deductive approaches. Qualitative research is predominantly, but not always

exploratory using a variety of methodologies such as ethnography, grounded theory and case study. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research

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most commonly uses purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is a type of sampling where:

"…particular settings, persons, or events are deliberately selected for the important information that they can provide that cannot be gotten from as well from any other choices."

(Maxwell, 1998 pg 235) There are a number of characteristics that might differentiate participants including, age, gender, race, illness type and so on with their inclusion being dependent upon the aims of a particular study (Clark & Creswell 2011). Commonly the analysis of qualitative data involves the identification of themes, categories and/or patterns which are then examined to reach an understanding of the research questions.

3.6.3. The 'Paradigm Wars'

The 'paradigm war' (Creswell & Plano Clark 2011) was initiated by the rise of qualitative research and the criticism of quantitative research and its

positivist stance as being limited in producing beneficial research (Guba & Lincoln 1994). Paradigms are belief systems or epistemologies that guide research (Teddlie &Tashakkori 2009). It was argued that since research paradigms are linked to particular research methods and the paradigms rise from differing theoretical perspectives they could not be combined or mixed and were incomensible (Kuhn 1962). However arguments that highlighted the differences also served to illuminate the strengths and weaknesses in both quantitative and qualitative research and it began to be argued (Denzin 1978) that in combination they could address both exploratory and

confirmatory questions simultaneously, provide 'better (stronger) inferences'. It is from this position that allowed the emergence of divergent views (Teddlie &Tashakkori 2009) that mixed methods research arose.

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3.6.4. Mixed Methods Research

The term 'mixed methods' was first coined by Teddlie &Tashakkori in 'The Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioural Research' (2010) and has been widely used ever since across many disciplines.

Mixed methods are increasingly used in health research with the proportion of commissioned MM studies rising from 17 per cent in the 1990's to 30 percent in the early 2000s. (O’Cathain, Murphy, & Nicholl, 2007) as it claims to address the complexity of this setting.

"Within health services research, a mixed methods approach is justified on pragmatic rather than ideological grounds, to help researchers to engage with the complexity of health, health care, and the environment in which studies take place"

(O’Cathain et al. 2007). Despite this popularity a clear definition of the approach remains to be

agreed, Johnson, Onwuegbuzie & Turner (2007) analysed many different definitions of MM research and suggested the following;

"Mixed methods is the type of research in which the researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, (e.g. use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the purpose of breadth of understanding or corroboration."

(Johnson et al. 2007pg 123) . Mixed methods has also been variously referred to as 'an important

methodological approach' (O'Cathain, Murphy, Nicholl (2007), 'a research paradigm or research approach' Johnson et al. (2007) whilst Teddlie and Tashakkori state it is not a methodology and refer to MM research as the ' third methodological community' (Teddlie &Tashakkori 2009).

Mixed methodologists argue that the research question drives the research process and that whatever methodological approaches are required to answer that question should be used (Teddlie &Tashakkori 2009). Johnson et al. (2007) describe it as lying in the centre of a continuum as illustrated in Figure 3.3 overleaf.

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Figure 3.3: The QUAL-MM-QUAN Research Continuum

Adapted from Teddlie & Tashakkori 2009

Mixed methods research involves the collection, analysis and, pivotally an integration of findings with inferences drawn from both qualitative and quantitative data from a single study or programme of enquiry with a common research question (Tashakkori & Creswell 2007). .