Methodological Implications of Critical Realism for Mixed-Methods Research1

Markos Zachariadis · Susan Scott · Michael Ian Barrett

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Critical Realism in Sociology Information Systems Theories and Implementation Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research

Abstract

Building on recent developments in mixed methods, we discuss the methodological implications of critical realism and explore how these can guide dynamic mixed-methods research design in information systems. Specifically, we examine the core ontological assumptions of CR in order to gain some perspective on key epistemological issues such as causation and validity, and illustrate how these shape our logic of inference in the research process through what is known as retroduction. We demonstrate the value of a CR-led mixed-methods research approach by drawing on a study that examines the impact of ICT adoption in the financial services sector. In doing so, we provide insight into the interplay between qualitative and quantitative methods and the particular value of applying mixed methods guided by CR methodological principles. Our positioning of demi-regularities within the process of retroduction contributes a distinctive development in this regard. We argue that such a research design enables us to better address issues of validity and the development of more robust meta-inferences.

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References

1984Case Study Research: Design and Methods 1994Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches 1985Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness 1994Handbook of Qualitative Research 2007Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research 2004Case Study Research 1979Central Problems in Social Theory 2005Paradigmatic Controversies, Contradictions, and Emerging Confluences.

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2017Social Media Affordances for Connective Action: An Examination of Microblogging Use During the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill1 2013Critical Realism in Information Systems Research 2013Case studies and generalization in information systems research: A critical realist perspective 2021Retroductive Theorizing: A Contribution of Critical Realism to Mixed Methods Research 2018Learning from First-Generation Qualitative Approaches in the IS Discipline: An Evolutionary View and Some Implications for Authors and Evaluators (PART 1/2)

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