Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods in Theses and Dissertations

"This book offers a broad spectrum of research methodologies within one text that is easy to understand. Thomas examines educational research as a series of simple and complex questions. This integrated presentation of research methodologies makes this a unique text."
Roxana Della Vecchia, Assistant Dean, College of Education
Towson University

"This book should reside in the library of anyone who has a serious interest in doing research in any of the social sciences, or in any of dozens of application areas such as health education, nursing, social work, evaluation, etc."
Norvell Northcutt, Sr. Lecturer, Department of Educational Administration
University of Texas at Austin

The first of its kind, this comprehensive guide offers the only resource that responds to the growing trend of combining qualitative and quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations. It thoroughly discusses a wide array of methods, the strengths and limitations of each, and how they can be effectively interwoven into various research designs.

Aimed at empowering students with the information necessary to choose the best approach to fit their needs, the user-friendly text outlines numerous research options from varying viewpoints, and highlights the procedures involved with putting each method into practice.

Additional special features include:

• 20 examples of thesis and dissertation proposals that masterfully mix qualitative and quantitative methods in diverse ways
• Tips on how to publish research results
• Techniques for collecting data and interpreting results for qualitative and quantitative methods
• Tools for identifying which method is most appropriate for answering certain kinds of research questions

 R. Murray Thomas (Ph.D., Stanford University) is an emeritus professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where for three decades he taught educational psychology and directed the program in international education. He began his 50-year career in education as a high school teacher at Kamehameha Schools and Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, then continued at the college level at San Francisco State University, the State University of New York (Brockport), and Pajajaran University in Indonesia before moving to Santa Barbara. His professional publications exceed 340, including 46 books for which he served as author, coauthor, or editor.