REPSONd TO CHARLES DISCUSSION POST ON HOW WOULD YOU DEVELOP YOUR PREVIOUS METHODOLOGY TO INCORPORATE MIXED-METHODS CONCEPTS? YOU MAY CHOOSE TO CREATE A SEQUENTIAL-EXPLANATORY DESIGN (QUANTITATIVE FOLLOWED BY QUALITATIVE), A SEQUENTIAL-EXPLORATORY DESIGN (QUALITATIVE FOLLOWED BY QUANTITATIVE), OR A CONCURRENT DESIGN (COLLECTING BOTH DATA SETS SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR TRIANGULATION). DISCUSS THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF USING MIXED METHODS IN YOUR RESPONSE.
CHARLES POST
As a recap from module 5, the problem to be addressed in this study is that of experimental home-built aircraft accidents being higher than factory-produced aircraft assembled by certified Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air frame and Power-plant (A&P) mechanics. Individuals assembling home-built aircraft are not required to obtain any special training, licenses, or certifications and can make an endless number of modifications. There are no inspection requirements during the process for building experimental home-built aircraft. The only requirement is the aircraft must be inspected upon completion.
Exploratory sequential mixed methods are an approach to combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis in a sequence of phases (SAGE, 2019). In the first phase, researchers collect qualitative data and then analyze the data, the results of which direct the next, quantitative phase, which could be a survey or some other form of quantitative data collection (SAGE, 2019). That is, the qualitative analysis provides critical fodder for developing specific research questions for the quantitative phase, which involves a questionnaire, survey, or another form of quantitative data collection (SAGE, 2019).
I originally chose to take a quantitative design to test the hypothesis. However, I feel it is now necessary to take a mixed-method approach to obtain quantitative results. Using the mixed-methods has the benefits to add more weight, value, and credibility to the study.
Using a sequential-exploratory design (qualitative followed by quantitative) will be necessary to understand exactly what happened for each aircraft accident. The root cause will need to be determined to obtain quantitative results in the end. Reviewing a small percentage of home built aircraft accidents and a small percentage of factory-produced aircraft, using the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports will allow me to break down each accident and categorize the causal factors. After exploring the variables for all the aircraft accidents they will need to be measured. This is when the quantitative approach will take place and the data can be displayed via a bar graph.
The drawbacks of using the mixed methods are the time taken to determine the causal factors for as many aircraft accidents as possible in a 9-week time frame. While it is still possible to conduct mixed methods, the observed amount of accidents may not be as large as I would prefer it to be. I would like to make it as accurate as possible without any biased information.
References
ATSB. (2007). Amateur-built aircraft Part 2: Analysis of accidents involving VH-registered non-factory-built aeroplanes 1988-2010. Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2007/ar-2007-043%282%29.aspx
SAGE. (2019). Learn to Use an Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method Design for Instrument Development. SAGE Research Methods: Find resources to answer your research methods and statistics questions. https://methods.sagepub.com/base/download/DatasetStudentGuide/exploratory-sequential-mixed-method-instrument-development-united-states