This three-day course will be held March 18–20, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST each day.
Evaluators are frequently in evaluation situations in which they are collecting data through multiple methods, often both qualitative and quantitative. Too often, however, these study components are conducted and reported independently, and do not maximize the explanation building that can occur through their integration. The purpose of this course is to sensitize evaluators to the opportunities in their work for designing and implementing mixed methods, and to be more intentional in the ways that they design and implement their studies to integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches. This highly interactive course will begin with an overview of the issues involved with mixed-methods research, then focus on the research questions and evaluation situations that are conducive for mixed-methods, and the variety of designs that are possible. A significant portion of the course will be on strategies for implementing mixed-methods designs and analyzing the data to maximize their integration.