Mixed Methods

Mixed methods research is relatively new in the social and human sciences as a distinct research approach. It is a strategy that involves collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data in a single study. The concept of mixing different methods probably originated in 1959, when Campbell and Fiske used multiple methods to study validity of psychological traits. Recognizing that all methods have limitations, researchers felt that biases inherent in any single method could neutralize or cancel the biases of other methods (Creswell, J, W. 2003).

4.4 Surveys

Questionnaires are a well-established technique for collecting demographic data and users’ opinions. They are similar to interviews and have closed or open questions, (Preece et al, 2002). The making of a good questionnaire is demanding and requires certain knowledge of how to make them understandable and unbiased. Surveys are the classic questionnaire one often gets in the grocery shop and various places on the internet. Surveys give a quantitative or numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population. From sample results, the researcher generalizes or makes claims about the population (Creswell, 2003). But to do this you need a

Chapter 4: Research in Information Systems

group that can be seen as representative of the population you wish to say something about. You can not for example, use men in jobs if you want to know about housewives. They include cross-sectional (at one point in time) and longitudinal (over time) studies or structured interviews, with the intent of generalizing from a sample to a population (Creswell, 2003). Many questionnaires start by asking for basic demographic information and details of user experience.

There are different types of rating scales that can be used. Two examples are the Likert scale and semantic differential scale. Likert scales are often used for measuring opinions and attitudes and are therefore widely used for evaluating user satisfaction.

Example of Likert scale:

• How strongly do you agree to the statement “…”? (Where 1 represents strongly disagree, and 5 represents strongly agree).

1 2 3 4 5

Semantic differential scales are used less frequently. They explore a range of bipolar attitudes about a particular item.

Example of semantic differential scale:

• How would you describe “…”? Place only one cross.

Attractive Ugly

4.5 Observation

The technique observation will be very important in my investigations. Observation is one of the most basic forms of research and it is often combined with other forms of research.

Observation has a tradition of being non-interventional (Fontana and Frey, 1994). When observing subjects one should try to not influence the

Chapter 4: Research in Information Systems

subjects too much. This, of course, depends on where on a scale of observation one finds oneself. Fontana and Frey’s outline four modes through which one may gather data: the complete participant, the participant-as-observer, the observer-as-participant and the complete observer (Fontana and Frey, 1994). The terms are almost self explanatory, but the complete observer means that the participants do not even see the researcher. In such a case they use see-through mirrors or cameras. If observing something in the wild, they would be careful not to be discovered.

Creswell suggest keeping an observational protocol for the collected data. Possibly a single page divided vertically where one side is for descriptive

notes (notes about participants, dialogues, physical setting, and so forth)

and the other for reflective notes (researchers personal thought), (Creswell, J, W. 2003).

4.6 Interview

Interviews can be thought of as “a conversation with a purpose” (Preece,

et al. 2002). The interview method used decides how much like an

ordinary conversation the interview is. The names of the types of interviews describe how much control the interviewer imposes on the conversation by following a predefined set of questions. Open-ended interview (unstructured) is the type of interview which is the least controlled. On the other side of the scale you have structured interviews, which resemble questionnaires. In between these two we have the semi- structured interview. A group interview involves a small group of people guided by an interviewer who facilitates discussion of a specified set of topics (Preece, et al. 2002).

Interviews, as most methods, take a lot of practice before getting “the hang of it”. It is difficult and the questions one asks does not always give the answers we are looking (or hoping) for.

Structured interviewing

Structured interviewing refers to a situation in which an interviewer asks the respondent a series of pre-established questions with a limited set of response categories, (Fontana and Frey. 1994). There are generally little

Chapter 4: Research in Information Systems

room for variation in response except where an infrequent open-ended question may be used. The interviewer controls the pace of the interview by treating the questionnaire as if it were a theatrical script to be followed in a standardized and straightforward manner, (Fontana and Frey. 1994).

Unstructured interviewing

Unstructured interviews are also referred to as open-ended interviews. These interviews are more like conversations that focus on a particular topic and may often go into considerable depth. The structure is open; the interviewees are free to answer as fully or as briefly as they wish (Preece,

et al. 2002).

A benefit of this type of interviews is that they generate rich sets of data. The down side with all the collected data, is that it is very time consuming and difficult to analyze (Fontana and Frey, 1994.)

Semi structured interviewing

This is a combination of structured and unstructured interviewing. In this type of interview one can use both structured questions and unstructured questions. The interviewer has a basic script for guidance to assure that the same topics are covered with all the interviewees (Preece, et al. 2002).

Group interviews

One form of group interviews is the focus group. Normally there are three to ten people involved. Participants are selected to provide a representative sample of a population. The method assumes that individuals develop opinions within a social context by talking with others (Preece, et al. 2002). Group interviews can be used in addition to structured interviews, unstructured interviews and semi-structured interviews. It is not meant to replace individual interviewing, but it is an option that deserves consideration because it can provide another level of data gathering or a perspective on the research problem not available through individual interviews (Fontana and Frey. 1994).

For the investigation in this thesis the methods: observation, interview and survey are used.

Chapter 5: Choice of Methods