Adopting a Dialectic Stance: A Dialogic Inquiry of the Challenges for Mixed Methods Researchers

• In Event: 45.073 - Taking Stock of the Mixed Methods Field and Its Advances

Abstract

A dialectic stance is an indispensable strategy for integrating multiple perspectives throughout – from conception to conclusion – a mixed methods (MM) study. But, what does it mean to take a dialectic stance? Although this question is critical to the MM research enterprise, no satisfying answers exist in the methodological literature. Using an autoethnographic approach, we addressed this gap by investigating how taking a dialectic stance influenced two independent MM educational studies. The systematic process, which entailed introspection and collaborative dialogue, revealed three insightful metaphors associated with a dialectic stance. Our dialogic approach to answering this fundamental question is a significant step towards making the dialectic stance more accessible to researchers inside and outside the MM research community.

Authors

• Marcia Gail Headley, University of Delaware

• Stephanie Cronenberg, Rutgers University