The importance of mixed methods design was fundamental in designing the framework for this thesis. There has been a great deal of attention paid to the classification of mixed methods design since the end of the 1980s (Creswell & Clark, 2007). A recent classification of Creswell and Clark (2011) point out that there are four main mixed methods designs: 1) convergent parallel design; 2) explanatory sequential design; 3) exploratory sequential design; and 4) embedded design. However, although different features have been emphasized and different names have been given, there are more similarities than differences among these classifications (Creswell & Clark, 2011).
There are four key principles for designing mixed methods research: 1) the level of interaction between the quantitative and qualitative methods; 2) the relative priority or weight given to the quantitative and qualitative methods; 3) the timing of the quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; and 4) the stage or stages in the research process at which the quantitative and qualitative phases are connected and the results are integrated (Creswell & Clark, 2011; Ivankova, Creswell, & Stick, 2006; Morgan, 1998). Three types of decisions are to be addressed in light of these principles, namely the interaction decision, the timing decision, and the weighting and mixing decision.
Interaction decision
The level of interaction between the quantitative and qualitative method is an important principle. There are two levels of interaction: 1) the independent level; and 2) the interactive level (Creswell & Clark, 2011). This thesis adopts the independent level of interaction, where the quantitative and qualitative methods are implemented so that they are independent from the other. The researcher only mixes the two methods when drawing conclusions during the overall interpretation at the end of the study.
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Timing decision
Timing (also named as “implementation” or “sequence”) refers to the temporal relationship of the quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis (Creswell & Clark, 2011; Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989; Morgan, 1998). Timing relates to the decision on whether the quantitative and qualitative studies are in a sequence (one following another), or concurrently (Ivankova et al., 2006). Concurrent timing occurs when the quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analysed at the same time. On the other hand, in the sequential study, quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analysed over the period of time in two distinct phases. It means that the researchers use one type of data before using the other data type (Creswell & Clark, 2011; Ivankova et al., 2006).
For this thesis, concurrent timing was adopted due to both theoretical and practical considerations. Both numerical and narrative data were used to provide a broad and complementary explanations of the SME financial reporting in Sri Lanka. For the purpose of validation, the data were triangulated by comparing and contrasting quantitative statistical results with qualitative findings. It is suggested that the concurrent design is more appropriate for a mixed methods study in which the purpose is to take advantage of data triangulation (Creswell & Clark, 2011; Ivankova et al., 2006). Since the research field is Sri Lanka, both types of data had to be collected in one visit to the field within a limited time frame. If the quantitative and qualitative phases are conducted sequentially, the two phases of data collection could not be completed within the time frame. Concurrent design was therefore, adopted for this thesis.
Weighting decision and mixing decision
In concurrent designs, there is a weighting option. The research may give equal weight to both the quantitative and qualitative methods or may weight them unequally (Creswell & Clark, 2011). This thesis gives equal weight to both quantitative and qualitative methods as both approaches were used to address the research questions of the thesis.
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Researchers need to decide how to mix quantitative and qualitative data within their research (Creswell & Clark, 2011). According to Creswell and Clark (2011, p. 66), “mixing occurs at four possible points during the research process: interpretation, data analysis, data collection, and design”. This thesis mixed quantitative and qualitative findings when the results were interpreted. Mixing during interpretation occurs when the quantitative and qualitative findings are mixed during the final step of the research process after the researcher has collected and analysed separately both sets of data (Creswell & Clark, 2011). In this thesis, the data collection and analysis of the quantitative and qualitative thesis are reported separately, and then integrated to answer the research questions.
Findings from the quantitative and qualitative thesis are compared and connected when the results are discussed. While the triangulation approach adopted was useful to capture a holistic understanding of a social phenomena, it also created challenges in analysing and making sense of empirical evidence collected from various sources and in different ways (Hoque & Hopper, 1997). To overcome this problem, results obtained from the quantitative data were matched with various themes/concepts identified in the interview data analysis (Sharma et al., 2010; Tsamenyi et al., 2006) at the interpretation stage. Figure 3 illustrates the concurrent mixed methods design for this thesis.
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Figure 3 : Concurrent mixed methods design for this thesis Source: Author
Concurrent mixed methods design Concurrent mixed methods design
Collect the qualitative data
Semi-structured interviews with accountants and owners of SMEs, bank lending officers, Officers from Standards setting body of Sri Lanka, income tax officers, and officers from Ministries of Sri Lanka
Integrate (mix) qualitative and quantitative results, discussion, and development of the financial reporting framework for Sri Lankan SMEs
Collect the quantitative data
A questionnaire survey with accountants and owners of SMEs
Analyse the qualitative data
Analyse interview data using thematic analysis
Analyse the quantitative data
Analyse questionnaire data using statistical and thematic analysis
Conduct a user evaluation of the proposed SME financial reporting framework for Sri Lankan SMEs
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The qualitative data collection involved semi structured interviews with a sample consisting of accountants and owners of SMEs, bank loan officers, tax officers, officers from standards setting body of Sri Lanka, and officers from Ministries of Sri Lanka. The quantitative data collection was by questionnaire survey of accountants and owners of SMEs. SME accountants refer to those who are working for SMEs in the position of accountants or preparing SME financial information. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data, while statistical analysis was applied to the quantitative data acquired from the questionnaire survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection were undertaken concurrently. Following the integration of the results obtained from the qualitative and quantitative data analysis, a financial reporting framework for Sri Lankan SMEs was developed. As the final stage of the research a user evaluation of the proposed framework was conducted to test the appropriateness of the framework to users of SME financial information. For this purpose, only a limited number of users of SME financial information, were selected and interviewed.
6.5 Summary
This chapter described the research methodology adopted for this thesis. The underlying philosophical assumptions were addressed at the beginning of the chapter. A discussion of the positivism and interpretivism paradigms were provided as an aid for understanding the approach to the research. The pragmatic philosophical perspective is adopted and its tenets are clarified. This pragmatist point of view is illustrated as rejecting the forced choice between positivism and interpretivism with regard to methods, logic and epistemology (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). Pragmatic researchers place at the heart of their endeavours the research questions (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004), rather than being pre-occupied with ontological and epistemological debates about truth and reality (Cherryholmes, 1992).
Accordingly, the research thesis adopted the mixed methods methodological approach to obtain answers for the research questions. Mixed methods research approach has been widely used in social science, and researchers in the fields of management, and accounting. The mixed methods approach, provides researchers
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with a more thorough and comprehensive investigation of the phenomena than would the use of one method alone. As a result, by mixing quantitative and qualitative methods it is possible to take advantage of triangulation to enhance the validity of the research. Based on the research objective and research questions, the research design of this thesis employed a convergent parallel mixed methods research design in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently; analysed independently; and integrated in the discussion. The next chapter presents the research methods used in the study.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
RESEARCH METHODS
7.1 Introduction
This chapter explains the research methods used to ascertain answers to the research questions of the study, using a mixed methods research design that combines both qualitative and quantitative data. This chapter outlines the procedures data collection and data analysis. Section 7.2 outlines the procedure of the interviews, including rationale for interviews, design of the interview guide, sample selection for interviews and how the interview data was processed by employing thematic analysis. Section 7.3 explains the rationale and design of the questionnaire, including sample selection, and data collection. Section 7.4 describes the ethical considerations of the research. Section 7.5 concludes the chapter.