Comparative Mixed Methods Design: a Study on Interreligious Relations in Suriname and Guyana
Location
1048
Format Type
Event
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2019
End Date
January 2019
Abstract
This paper reports the experiences with combining the comparative and mixed methods design in a study on interreligious relations in Suriname and Guyana, two Caribbean nations, from 1950 to 2014. A comparative mixed methods design is used. Often studies emphasize a particular design and complement this with elements of another design, but in this paper the comparative and mixed methods designs are equally important and integrated as such. It is argued that the comparative mixed methods design methodologically facilitates the research objective of theoretical innovation in the field of religious studies through cross national comparisons and a particular sequence of qualitative and quantitative methods. Several challenges influenced the evolution of this research design. There were complexities to determine the criteria of comparison of nations during the preparation of the research. The problem of confounding variables is explained. In the stage of data collection the rule of a similar set of research methods in nations could not be strictly followed. One nation required additional research methods because of limitations in the comparability of data. Finally the challenges in theoretical innovation during analyses are shared especially the influence of ideas about theoretical contribution in comparative and mixed methods designs.
Keywords
Suriname, Guyana, mixed methods, comparison, religious diversity
Comparative Mixed Methods Design: a Study on Interreligious Relations in Suriname and Guyana
1048
This paper reports the experiences with combining the comparative and mixed methods design in a study on interreligious relations in Suriname and Guyana, two Caribbean nations, from 1950 to 2014. A comparative mixed methods design is used. Often studies emphasize a particular design and complement this with elements of another design, but in this paper the comparative and mixed methods designs are equally important and integrated as such. It is argued that the comparative mixed methods design methodologically facilitates the research objective of theoretical innovation in the field of religious studies through cross national comparisons and a particular sequence of qualitative and quantitative methods. Several challenges influenced the evolution of this research design. There were complexities to determine the criteria of comparison of nations during the preparation of the research. The problem of confounding variables is explained. In the stage of data collection the rule of a similar set of research methods in nations could not be strictly followed. One nation required additional research methods because of limitations in the comparability of data. Finally the challenges in theoretical innovation during analyses are shared especially the influence of ideas about theoretical contribution in comparative and mixed methods designs.
Comments
Breakout Session I