Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the definitions and methods of qualitative and quantitative, their strengths and weaknesses and the merged mixed method approach. Next, the author relates a literature review highlighting research in the area of education, the complex research requirements of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB) and the problems it faces in terms of methodology and the mixed research design used in a case study. The paper urges that researchers receive additional training in merging quantitative and qualitative methods especially for research in the field of education. Footnotes and many tables and figures are included in the paper.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Definition
Overview of Research Methods
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Comparison/Contrast
Strengths/Weaknesses
Mixed Methods
Literature Review
Research for NCLB
Study Definition and Issues
Current Trends/Problem Correction
Use of Research on AYP Ratings
Case Studies and Examples
Overview
Case Study - "Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers in Rural Areas"
Conclusions and Recommendations

From the Paper:

"Being a social science, education has generally been studied by qualitative methods. The reason for this is that human beings are not an exact science, and facts have to be derived by an inductive rather than deductive approach. Best practice could therefore best be determined by making value judgments rather than drawing quantitative conclusions. It has however been recognized that the social sciences can also be studied from an objective rather than subjective viewpoint. According to Hara, quantitative research can be used in education in order to discover existing facts by means of isolating human reality from the researcher's subjectivity. The data obtained in this way can then be presented in a numerical, objective way, in order to derive universally applicable conclusions. The value of such research is that it exists independently from values such as time, place and culture. Hence the conclusions can be applied to any educational setting.
"Hara cites two reasons for the use of quantitative research in education; the first is that the concepts behind quantitative research, as well as its methods and purposes, were appropriate to education research, and the second that it could provide logical standards for the study of education."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Booth, W., et.al. (2008). The Craft of Research. University of Chicago Press.
• Bordens, K. and B. Abbott. (2007). Research Design and Methods: A Process Approach. Mc-Graw Hill Humanities and Social Sciences Press.
• Creswell, J. (2008). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage Publications.
• Drisco, J. W. (2008). "How is Qualitative Research Taught at the Master's Level."Journal of Social Work Education. 44(1): 85-96.
• Graziano, A. and M. Raulin. (2006). Research Methods: A Process of Inquiry. Allyn andBacon.

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