Mixed – Methods research: do we need a philosophical / epistemological basis?

Abstract

In the last decade, Mixed – Methods approach was developed, surrounded by agrowing community of mixed researchers. Those contrary to the integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches seem to have lost the debate on the incompatibility thesis, which lasted for several decades. But Mixed – Methods research still lacks several important definitions. One of them, the philosophy and epistemology underlying this research strategy. Several options are discussed in this paper. The most frequent philosophical basis is pragmatism, but other choices can be considered as well. Nonetheless, the key question raised is if we inevitably need to establish rigid philosophical basis. It may be inevitable to hold a philosophical point of view, but at the same time the practice of research could benefit from flexible relationship between abstract assumptions and practical research decisions.