Converging Cultures: The Role of Cases and Variables for Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

• In Event: 30402 - New Insights from Multiple Methods and Measures

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to motivate social scientists conducting or evaluating empirical research to consider the question: is this research making claims about cases or about variables? Social scientific research methods are generally divided into two broad categories: qualitative and quantitative. For decades, the division between qualitative versus qualitative methods did not simply refer to differences in the analytic tools, but also to distinct approaches to explaining the social world, with each side adopting distinct modes of explanation, approaches to generalization, and conceptions of causation, among other things. While these epistemological divisions remain, they have become decoupled from their respective methodological camps. We contend that, rather than falling along qualitative-quantitative lines, these differences are broadly distinguished by whether research centers cases versus variables. We illustrate how case-oriented research and variable-oriented research differ in terms of their modes of explanation, approaches to generalization, and conceptions of causality. We contend that having such a clear and intuitive basis for distinguishing approaches to social research has multiple tangible benefits for social scientific research. It stands to clarify challenges in the peer review process that emerge when researchers who share a common identity (e.g., qualitative or quantitative) adopt distinct approaches to explanation, causation, or generalization. It provides a framework for articulating existing differences in the logic of inquiry when we teach research methods. More generally, it provides a principled foundation for establishing standards for what constitutes rigorous research that are not solely tethered to specific types of data, approaches to data collection, or methods of analysis.

Authors

• Eric W. Schoon, The Ohio State University

• Thomas V. Maher, Clemson University