Abstract

Recent decades have seen a proliferation of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, available to psychologists. Whereas some scholars have claimed that qualitative and quantitative methods are inherently opposed, recently many more researchers have argued in favor of “mixed methods” approaches. In this article the author presents a review of the literature on the issue of how to meaningfully relate qualitative and quantitative approaches, with a particular emphasis on recent calls for mixed methods. The relative success of mixed-methods approaches is examined, and some of the common pitfalls of these approaches are outlined. 2012 APA, all rights reserved)