ABSTRACT
A revolution is taking place in the way that research techniques are being used and applied in the social sciences and education. In addition to the traditional use of quantitative techniques in education, qualitative approaches to gathering data have been added. More recently, the combined use of quantitative and qualitative data has been emphasized, and its use heralds a new methodology called mixed methods research. Mixed methods involves the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data and its integration (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). The basic assumption is that the combination of data provides a better understanding of a research problem or practical situation than either type of data by itself. This more comprehensive way of studying research problems holds tremendous potential for utilizing the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research. It also has application for a more systematic use of data in fields such as evaluation and assessment. The evaluation of student performance in the classroom, for instance, has traditionally been based on the quantitative outcome or performance data gathered from student evaluation forms. More recently, quantitative data has been augmented by qualitative data. Examples of this include written comments on student evaluation forms, portfolio data, or teacher observations. Teachers in higher education, we feel, are engaged as mixed methods specialists in action, gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. Although there is a long tradition of mixed methods in evaluation, little has been written about how it provides a systematic approach to classroom assessment.
