Essay on Mixed Research Methodology: Adopting Qualitative & Quantitative Methods

Introduction

The study adopted a mixed research method whereby both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. An experiment and case studies were the two types of research styles considered for the study. There are diverse factors that influenced the decision to use both methodologies. One such consideration is that the research objectives were both subjective and objective. Therefore, the research was intended to collect information that is varied, extensive, and detailed while explaining and describing the research from a subjective point of view. The case study helped to present detailed information on paraffin deposition.

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The research is scientific. Therefore, there was a need to develop a methodology or a combination of methodologies that would increase the validity of the methods used and the consequent results and findings. There was a need to deviate from the standard strategies of data collection and analysis and develop a methodology that offered scientific findings. Furthermore, there was a cause-effect relationship to investigate. The mixed methodology was based on the basic principle of causality. It was meant to determine whether the manipulation of some factors should cause the hypothesized effect. An experiment was necessary to determine whether the trends and results in the experiments were caused by manipulation of some or all factors that are hypothesized to underlie the process.

Affirmation of Cause Effect

One key aspect of experiments is affirming the cause-effect. This includes hypothesizing the diverse factors that are believed to cause a phenomenon. The experiment findings should, therefore, a proof that the effect seen in the experiment are the results or happens due to the causes. The case study is a critical back up to the finding of the experiment's results. This is because of the massive interpretation error of the cause-effect when conducting a scientific experiment. The case study is an empirical investigation. It involves the investigation of a phenomenon in the real-life setting or context. A major strength of case studies that attracted their use in the study is that they involve an in-depth investigation. They are meant to describe and explore all causes underlying the phenomenon or underlying principles. Therefore, the causes that may have been ignored or not tested in the experiments may be highlighted using a case study. Furthermore, the case study helps the researcher to describe the measures of cause-effect with more clarity. They back-up the finding from the experiments, as well as identification of any weaknesses in the experimental models. For instance, the researcher could fail to identify and include some confounding variables. However, case studies provide a multiple source of evidence that could justify inclusion or consideration of these confounding variables in the experiments.

Challenges of Measuring Cause Effect in Experimental Studies

One of the weaknesses of experiments is that the researchers have difficulties justifying their treatments as the sole cause of the phenomenon they are investigating. Prior researches have highlighted the challenges of establishing the cause-effect of diverse phenomena. The presence of confounding effects cannot, therefore, be ignored when measuring the causality. However, the researcher may not be in a position to identify all causes. This could lead to an ultimate bias or influence the production of artificial results. In this case, the wrong causal conclusions are likely to be made, and the factors that cause a change in the outcome may not be fully explained. An advantage of experiments is their ability to control for extraneous variables. If the variables are not hypothesized, then the causal conclusion shall be biased. The case study enables the research to identify variables that increase the reliability of the findings from the experiments. Furthermore, case studies are observations from the real world. Therefore, findings have less capability of research bias. The cause and effect can be quantified to boost the reliability of the findings from the experiments.

Strengths of Incorporating Case Studies in Experimental Studies

One of the major advantages of a case study is it satisfies the need to study a phenomenon in the natural setting. Again, a case study would employ multiple methods of research in the data collection phase. As a result, case studies have diverse advantages that compensate for the weaknesses of experiments. For instance, experimental controls and researcher's manipulation are avoided when using a case study. The research can support existing theories while generating new theories. The findings of a case study can be used to justify and strengthen the theories that were generated from the experimental hypothesis results.

Case Study Locations

Case study locations were a very critical aspect of this research. A unique selection design based on a prior research by a research by (Huang, et, al. 2016) was used. The research focuses on a clearly defined approach to selecting the case study locations. This is important because the variables differ in the diverse location especially in the oil industry. Each system has its challenges and selecting the location with the cause-effects that are similar to the experiments is critical. The research affirms the need no avoid an opportunistic approach was when selecting a case-study location for a scientific study.

Weaknesses of the Mixed Methods

Despite the increased efficacy of mixed methods involving both experiments and case study methodology, such studies differ in diverse ways. Scientific researchers may have difficulties in using the mixed methodology. For instance, the decision on what methodology should be executed first or whether to run them concurrently may impact the research findings. In this study, the decision to carry out experiments before the case study is critical in that it allows the researcher to affirm the findings of the experiments. However, it would be important sometimes to conduct the case study before the experiment and develop the cause-effect hypothesis that could be tested by the experiments.

References

Creswell, John W., and Vicki L. Plano Clark. Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage publications, 2017.

Jogulu, Uma D., and Jaloni Pansiri. "Mixed methods: A research design for management doctoral dissertations." Management research review 34, no. 6 (2011): 687-701.

Mitchell, Ojmarrh. "Experimental research design." The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment (2015): 1-6.

Schoonenboom, Judith, and R. Burke Johnson. "How to construct a mixed methods research design." KZfSS Kolner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 69, no. 2 (2017): 107-131.

Yin, Robert K. Case study research and applications: Design and methods. Sage publications, 2017.