Mixed Methods Review and Critique

Mixed Methods Review and Critique

Torres's (2006) study entitled "A Mixed Method Study Testing Data-Model Fit of a Retention Model for Latino/a students at Urban Universities" appropriately demonstrates a mixed method study. This becomes evident when the study is examined using the mixed methods checklist provided by Creswell and Plano-Clark (2007).

According to Creswell and Plano-Clark (2007), the first step in the mixed methods checklist is to assess the study's topic. The general issue that is being studied in Torres's (2006) study is the retention model of Latino/a students at urban commuter universities. The second step is to identify the purpose of the study. The purpose of the study is to examine the factors that affect Latino/a students' choice to stay in college.

The third step is to identify the methods that were used by the author to collect the quantitative and qualitative data. As a primary data source, Torres used surveys that asked questions that related to the environment on campus, the students' cultural background, and the influence their families had on their education. The surveys used culturally sensitive scales that had been previously used in a Latino/a study by Nora et al. (1997).

The fourth step is to determine how the qualitative and quantitative data were collected.

The interview data was collected from three urban college campuses. One of the campuses served predominately Caucasian students, while the other two campuses had a large Hispanic population. The researcher used an open sampling technique. All interviews were taped and were later transcribed.

The fifth step is to determine how the quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed. The data for Torres's study was analyzed in two stages. First, the qualitative data was analyzed by using grounded theory techniques. The author used open and then axial coding so that a larger image of the environmental issues would emerge from the data. Secondly, Torres analyzed the quantitative data by developing a model that reconfigured Nora et al.'s previously used scales. The data was tested by using "latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the data-model fit" (302) to examine the causal influences on why students stayed or did not stay in college.

The sixth step is to assess the author's reason for using mixed methods research. Torres used a mixed method design because the study was part of a customized longitudinal research project, and the use of both quantitative and qualitative data offered more insight into the choices of Latino/a college students. The seventh step is to determine how the two types of data were mixed. In this case, the qualitative data was collected and analyzed. By using the themes found in the qualitative data, a model was developed and tested during the quantitative phase.