A Continuation of the Paradigm Wars? Prevalence Rates of Methodological Approaches Across the Social/Behavioral Sciences

• Published in: Journal of mixed methods research Vol. 4; no. 2; pp. 103 - 126
• Main Authors: Alise, Mark A., Teddlie, Charles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2010
• Subjects: Applied Sociology; Behavioral Sciences; Classification; Constructivism (Learning); Data Analysis; Data Collection; Elites; Higher Education; Incidence; Intellectual Disciplines; Mathematics Education; Methodological Problems; Methods Research; Nurses; Psychology; Research Design; Researchers; Sample Size; Sampling; Social Science Research; Social Sciences; Statistical Analysis; War; mixed methods research; paradigms; prevalence rates; pure and applied disciplines
• ISSN: 1558-6898; 1558-6901
• DOI: 10.1177/1558689809360805

A new line of research has emerged that examines the prevalence rates of mixed methods within disciplines in the social/behavioral sciences. Research presented in this article is unique in that it examines prevalence rates across multiple disciplines using an established cross-disciplinary classification scheme. Results indicate that there are significant differences in the methods employed (quantitative, mixed, qualitative) in pure (psychology, sociology) as opposed to applied (education, nursing) disciplines. The prevalence rate for mixed methods research is higher in applied (16%) compared with pure disciplines (6%). Quantitative methods and the underlying postpositivistic paradigm are prevalent in articles from ‘‘elite’’ journals from pure disciplines, especially psychology. Methodological issues are discussed, including the importance of the sampling procedures employed in prevalence rates studies.