Making Mixed Methods “Smart” in Higher Education Research: The Interaction of Philosophy and Research Design

• In Event: Complicating Qualitative Data: Philosophy, Politics, and Power

Abstract

This paper uses existing data from the National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE) (collected at a large Midwestern university) and combines this data with journals and interviews to explore the meaning of “student engagement” in depth. Data analysis shows that often a deeper understanding of how students were thinking about their college experience could add to the extant student engagement theory and interpretation of NSSE results. The main focus of the paper is how the mixed methods research is conducted, and how philosophy can add to a project of this nature. The interaction of philosophy and research design is highlighted as an exemplar of a “nomad science” in a higher education context.

Authors

• Daniel W. Newhart, The Ohio State University

• Patti A. Lather, The Ohio State University