Another lecture of the IAS Invited Lecture Series on Challenges and Affordances of Qualitative Methodologies, organised by the Faculty of English and convened by professors Joanna Pawelczyk and Agnieszka Kiełkiewicz-Janowiak, will take place on January 28, 2022 at 11.30 a.m. CET.
Prof. Jo Angouri (University of Warwick)
“Qualitative/quantitative/mixed methodologies and triangulation”
Abstract: The qualitative-quantitative (QUAL/QUAN) binary is one of the most common and dominant terms and categorisation labels in research methodology scholarship, training and practice. Despite years and volumes of critical scholarship, indicating that it often results in either oversimplifying complex research designs or being used as a fuzzy shorthand, the binary still provides a dominant frame of thinking about research design, interpretation and applicability. To mitigate, mixed methods (MIX) designs are considered to bring ‘the best of both worlds’. Adding mixed methods to the rich (social science) inventory has certainly enhanced research methodology thinking and practice. This does not, however, resolve criticisms associated with conceptualising QUAL/QUAN on a notional, linear, continuum and as mutually exclusive. To the contrary, a simplistic approach to mixed methods, reinforces the QUAL/QUAN division. In this lecture, I problematise these positions and discuss the affordances and limitations of approaching research activity through a binary or ternary lens. I draw on examples from ongoing interdisciplinary research and make a case for holistic research designs. I close by repositioning the QUAL/QUAN/MIX debate with particular reference to sociolinguistic research and reflect on areas for future research.
The lecture will be held on Zoom. Please register at https://forms.office.com/r/pxxsPTAQQL to receive the link to the online meeting.
