Yes, it is possible and very useful. By using the two techniques complement the results and conclusions will be more objective .
Can you tell us more about your specific research design -- especially how you will use a "case control" study?
Hi Ceslo, yes, it is possible to do a mixed method research with a case control study component. I would suggest reading an article by Sapkota et al. (2014) on "A Village Possessed by “Witches”: A Mixed-Methods Case–Control Study of Possession and Common Mental Disorders in Rural Nepal". In this research, the researcher conducted an informal interview first before conducting a case-control study to determine the prevalence of mental health problems among those who were deemed to be possessed by spirits and those who were not. The final stage of the research involved some in-depth interviews with the participants. Hope this helps.
Hi Syed, Margarita and Nasrul - thanks for your inputs
Hi David, thanks for asking about the design of the study
The study aims to determine the association of the duration of breastfeeding with the development of ADHD among Filipino children. Cases are those with ADHD and controls are those without ADHD. We would like to know if longer duration of breastfeeding has a protective effect against ADHD. Data on duration (and other confounding variables) will be collected through a questionnaire.
We also thought of the need to understand the reasons of mothers for longer or shorter duration of breastfeeding. Several contextual factors (e.g. specific to the Filipino setting) may come up in the process that may show influence on shorter or longer duration. Reasons and contextual factors will be collected through qualitative interviews.
We have concerns on - how can the data derived from the questionnaire be integrated with qualitative interview data in the analysis? How these two different types of data be presented as findings?
Thanks and looking forward to hear from you and others
Yes, it is possible to mix methods in your research. The presentation of your findings depends on your research sub-questions. It might be a parallel presentation (data from survey, than - data from interviews), or really mixed, e.g. you may use quotes to illustrate your findings from questionnaires
