Management Research, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 7Qualitative and mixed methods research designs

DOI: 10.4324/9781003381006-9

Chapter learning outcomes

After reading this chapter you will be able to

• recognize and evaluate key qualitative and mixed research designs;
• select and justify an appropriate qualitative or mixed research design for your own research project.

7.1 Introduction

In this chapter we turn our attention to research designs that use primarily qualitative methods, as shown in Figure 7.1. Each design is discussed in terms of its main characteristics and potential applications.

Research that uses only one family of methods (e.g. only quantitative, or only qualitative) is described as mono method. However, as each method has its own limitations, it is sometimes sensible ...