Qualitative mixed methods

Access to qualitative mixed methods data

Qualitative data is non-numeric information, recorded through in-depth interview transcripts, diaries, anthropological field notes or observations, answers to open-ended survey questions, audio-visual recordings and images. This kind of data can give “rich”, in-depth descriptions to everyday life and help to provide further context.

Mixed methods approaches combine qualitative data with quantitative data in one project. This can be structured in a variety of ways; for example, closed-ended responses in a survey may be complemented with open-ended responses explaining the reasoning behind their answers; answers to a survey may be accompanied by images or additional context; or participants may be asked basic demographic details but then follow up with longer interview data or written responses. Often the numeric and non-numeric data are linked with each other.

Some of the key studies providing qualitative and/or mixed methods data are listed below.

The Affluent Worker project was a mixed methods project undertaken to test empirically the thesis of working class embourgeoisement. The research studied the attitudes and behaviour of high wage earners in three mass or continuous flow companies. This study combined structured, close-ended survey questions with semi-structured interviews about class structure in Britain.

Access Affluent Worker in the Class Structure.

This qualitative study comprises of 537 life story interviews, recorded in the 1970s with a cross-national sample of people born before 1918 in the UK. These interviews formed the basis of the first national oral history project in the United Kingdom.

Access Family Life and Work Experience Before 1918.

The Family Life of Old People study examined the growing perception that a breakdown in extended family networks was leaving old people isolated, and creating an increasing demand for residential care. This dataset contains interview summaries and hand-drawn diagrams of social ties.

Access Family Life of Old People data.

This qualitative research used a psychanalytic approach to explore the relationship between the fear of crime and the risk of victimisation. The findings reported that high-risk groups, in particular, young men, report lower fear than low-risk groups, in particular, older women.

Access Gender Difference, Anxiety and Fear of Crime.

In the late 1950s Peter Townsend undertook a national study which investigated the provision of long-stay institutional care for old people in England and Wales. The study sought to ask “Are long stay institutions for old people necessary in our society, and, if so, what form should they take?”. This qualitative collection combined a range of methods, including interviews, images, and diaries, and had a lasting impact on policy, outlining a range of recommendations for long-term stay institutions.

Access the Last Refuge.

The central aim of this mixed methods research was to investigate the underlying premises of UK neighbourhood crime policies through a comparative study of the responses to crime and disorder within both affluent and deprived neighbourhoods, the extent and nature of informal means of social control utilised by their residents and how collective efficacy is related to social capital and social cohesion.

Access Neighbourhood Boundaries, Social Disorganisation and Social Exclusion.

This project explored the dynamics of migration in the Mediterranean region by providing a large-scale, systematic and comparative study of the backgrounds, experiences, aspirations and routes of migrants in four European countries (Italy, Greece, Malta and Turkey). The study conducted semi-structured interviews with participants, subsequently coded into a quantitative dataset that is now available for download.

Access Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis.

This multi-method project addressed the implication of the growth in concentration in food retailing in the UK – resulting from market consolidation and small store decline over the long term – with reference to its impact on consumer choice. It used semi-structured interviews, surveys, and observations to explore shopping habits of those in an “average” situation.

Access Retail Competition and Consumer Choice data.

The Pioneers of Social Research project offers an insight into the backgrounds of researchers, motivations for undertaking particular pieces of research and some interesting observations about studying the social sciences in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. A series of life history interviews were carried out with the pioneering researchers, covering their education, personal lives and careers.

Access Pioneers of Qualitative Research.

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Access to qualitative mixed methods data

More help in 'Different types of data'

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Qualitative mixed methods

Access to qualitative mixed methods data

Affluent Worker in the Class Structure

Family Life and Work Experience Before 1918

Family Life of Old People

Gender Difference, Anxiety and the Fear of Crime

Last Refuge

Neighbourhood Boundaries, Social Disorganisation and Social Exclusion

Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis

Retail Competition And Consumer Choice

Pioneers of Qualitative Research

Case studies

More help in 'Different types of data'