Quantitizing and qualitizing (im-)possibilities in mixed methods research

Abstract

Mixed methods research has gained momentum over the past decade, but critics rightly charge that the integration of qualitative and quantitative data remains an unresolved methodological issue. While each of the dualistic and canonized methodological paradigms has its own way of handling analysis, researchers in mixed methods as a new paradigm have invested considerable efforts in more complex mixed analysis. They use the quantitizing of qualitative data and qualitizing of quantitative data as the strategies to effect data integration in mixed methods research. While attempts have been made to achieve quantitizing and qualitizing of data, few empirical studies have been conducted in a two-phase convergent parallel mixed methods design to investigate such data conversion approaches, especially dichotomization, within a single inquiry. To contribute to this ongoing methodological quest, this article explores the possibilities and impossibilities offered by either strategy to convert narratives into numerical data and numerical data into narratives.