Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Quality of Life Studies

Abstract

The decision to use a certain research methodology is no minor question on the contrary it implies a philosophical, theoretical, political, and operative decision. The path towards method integration sprang from triangulation, as far as the validation process of the completed research is concerned, and converged in the use of mixed methods as a strategy to complement and expand the combination of the quantitative and qualitative methods. In 1978 Denzin defines triangulation as the combination of methodologies for the study of the same phenomena or process. Some decades before, Creswell, Felters e Ivankova explained that in triangulation each method has the same importance and the work is organized in different sections, with a final discussion at the end, in which the researcher combine the results of the use of both methods. As the idea of triangulation develops, it gives way to the idea of mixed-methods. Apart from Sieberdifferent authors have proposed this new methodological strategy in which researchers can combine both methods at different stages of the project. Actually, mixed-methods are considered a kind of theory and practice analyses in the research field, from different points of view, with the aim of achieving depth and corroborating the results. Achieving method integration in the field of research on quality of life requires that the researcher should articulate the data obtained through qualitative and quantitative means, and produce an integrated analysis of the said data