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This paper aims to represent a response to issues raised in the continuing quantitative-qualitative debate by Valtakoski (2020). Which appeared in a Journal of Services Marketing (JSM) special issue on qualitative research in service-oriented research.

The authors performed a content analysis of 1,268 papers that were published in JSM (1987-2019). In addition, the authors had data that is held in JSM’s manuscript central submission portal.

The analysis shows that while there is a dominance of quantitative methods in the journal, the proportion of qualitative papers is growing. During 2014-2019, 83.4 per cent of submitted papers to JSM represented quantitative research and 14 per cent represented qualitative research; however, 75 per cent of accepted papers were quantitative and 25 per cent were qualitative/mixed methods. Thus, the proportion of published qualitative studies are increasing and have a higher chance of receiving an acceptance decision compared to quantitative studies. Additionally, the largest percentage of qualitative papers published in JSM derive from corresponding authors outside of North America.

Service researchers who opt to use inductive research methods, which tend to use qualitative research, will not confront discrimination based solely upon the use of a research methodology among editors or reviewers at JSM.

JSM welcomes qualitative research that has rich practical implications.

This study is one of the first to provide authors with a detailed analysis and responses to the qualitative-quantitative debate in marketing.

Discrete event simulation (DES) is widely known to be a quantitative research tool. A simulation modelling process is mainly based on feeding quantitative data into a model to produce quantitative results in a structured sequential process. Qualitative approaches to research take a less structured approach with more of an inclination towards judgmental and expert knowledge rather than hard data. In this paper the authors suggest that DES can be employed as both a qualitative and quantitative research tool. The paper demonstrates how simulation may represent both stances either separately or combined. This is based on the fact that the basic objectives of simulation are either for understanding – which needs a qualitative perspective – or performance measurement – which a needs quantitative perspective. Traditional quantitative and qualitative methods are discussed showing how DES might cope with the weaknesses of both stances. A structure for using DES as a combined research methodology is proposed.

Gives an overview of quantitative model‐based research in operations management, focusing on research methodology. Distinguishes between empirical and axiomatic research, and furthermore between descriptive and normative research. Presents guidelines for doing quantitative model‐based research in operations management. In constructing arguments, builds on learnings from operations research and operations management research from the past decades and on research from a selected number of other academic disciplines. Concludes that the methodology of quantitative model‐driven empirical research offers a great opportunity for operations management researchers to further advance theory.

The purpose of this article is to determine the mix of qualitative and quantitative research published in major marketing journals.

This study involved a content analysis of 1,195 articles published between 1993 and 2002 in three prominent marketing journals.

It was found that 24.80 per cent of articles employed qualitative methods in some form, and 46.28 per cent quantitative research. The main justification provided for use of qualitative methods was the ability to provide more insight or a deeper understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. No increase was seen, however, in the amount (year by year) of qualitative research published over this period. This paper accounts for the continued dominance of quantitative research using linked historical, social and practical arguments.

The issue of method is central to marketing research. Understanding of the actual (as distinct from espoused) orientation of marketing researchers and journals is an aid to researchers intent on publishing their work.

This is the largest content analysis conducted of research in marketing and, in addition to the findings of the analysis, the explanation offered for the dominance of quantitative methods is of value to researchers.

This paper aims to examine mixed methods research (MMR) that appeared in eight tourism and hospitality journals (“Annals of Tourism Research”, “Tourism Management”, “Journal of Travel Research”, “Journal of Sustainable Tourism”, “International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management”, “International Journal of Hospitality Management”, “Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management” and “Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research”) from 1998 to 2019.

This review paper was a mixed methods design and was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, a content analysis was performed to determine if each article could be classified as non-empirical, qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In the second phase, descriptive statistics was used to present the number and characteristics of MMR articles. In the third phase, the contributions of MMR to addressing particular issues in tourism and hospitality studies were investigated.

This study identified 753 mixed methods articles, wherein 482 articles (64%) were published in the chosen tourism publication outlets and 271 (36%) in the chosen hospitality publication outlets. MMR studies having a dominant focus on specific methods (459 articles; 61%) outnumbered those having an equal focus on the qualitative and quantitative parts (294 articles; 39%). In case one method was dominant, this was typically the quantitative. Sequential data collection was prevalent in most of the cases (94.2%). The contributions of MMR to addressing generic and specific research problems were also analyzed.

This is the first comparison of MMR in major tourism and hospitality journals.

This paper aims to provide insights into the experiences of and challenges confronting higher degree research students and learning advisors (LAs) regarding data analysis support. The ability to handle data and use numerical evidence systematically is an important transferable skill and essential for the successful completion of a quantitative research thesis.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative data was used, enabling a convergence of findings: the questionnaire and one-on-one advisory sessions feedback gathered information on the student experience, while semi-structured interviews provided data on the LAs’ perspective.

Phenomenographic analysis of interviews revealed many challenges associated with centralised learning support provision. Learning advisors recognised not only different disciplinary needs but also the tensions associated with working centrally and cross-disciplinary. Students identified a need for more practice-orientated training opportunities in data analysis during their postgraduate and doctoral research.

Understanding gained from students’ and LAs’ experiences are essential for changes of university-wide teaching and learning strategies. The collection of “bottom-up” data on the student experience combined with data on learning thresholds provided by faculty and student learning support units would allow a coordinated, institution-wide approach to identified learning needs.

Developing a community of practice concerned with quantitative literacy means that staff with expert knowledge, regardless of discipline affiliation, can provide an environment in which students are able to develop their analytical skills further and can participate in ongoing discussions on real-life research and data analysis issues.

Built environment research consists of cognitive and affective, as well as behavioural, components. Existing built environment research utilises either strong qualitative or, more often, strong quantitative methodologies. Aims to discuss some of the philosophical issues that would be considered when undertaking academic research into the built environment. Considers the available research options or paradigms and suggests ways in which a researcher can make an informed and sensible decision as to how to proceed. The main dimensions of the debate about the relative characteristics and merits of quantitative and qualitative methodology are outlined, developing the argument that the use of a single methodology often fails to explore all of these components. The use of a mixed methods approach is suggested to counteract this weakness and to enhance research into the built environment.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate trends in the use of research methodologies and publications in manufacturing strategy (MS) literature across geographical regions and suggests possible future research opportunities.

This literature review is based on a sample of 512 subject-relevant journal articles and uses content analysis as the primary method for data analysis. The paper investigates developments in the use of research methodologies – in terms of research design, data collection methods, country of data collection, sample size, respondent type, statistical techniques used and time horizon of studies; and publication trends in terms of authorship type, authorship collaboration, most prolific authors, top journals, most prolific universities, and citation analysis.

Research in MS has substantially changed from conceptual quantitative to empirical quantitative designs. NA and Europe show a declining research interest. However, other regions of the world are consistently showing higher interest. Significant opportunities and synergies exist for collaborative research among regions.

Though the literature review is limited in its selection of articles and journals it sketches a picture that may surrogate the whole research community in MS.

Trends in publications and use of research methodologies provide directions for designing research projects relevant to various geographical regions. This will help develop a holistic understanding of MS that is meaningful for managers of today’s organizations.

This paper provides broader and deeper review of the MS literature. Complex patterns in data are revealed using cross-tabulations and advanced cross-tabulations that have not been performed in previous content-analysis–based literature reviews in MS. These patterns will help position future research studies.

This study demonstrates integration within a mixed-methods case study of construction phenomena, whilst ensuring reliability and validity. This is in view of the established philosophical challenges in theory generation, whereby qualitative and quantitative methods are underpinned by divergent, almost incompatible, paradigmic assumptions.

The study uses a sample case study research on the phenomenon of cost overruns, supported by a coherent flow of well-articulated philosophical arguments to idealise the logic of integration. Issues of reliability and validity were resolved along these lines, by incorporating applicable criteria from both the qualitative and qualitative strands. A detailed outline and rationalisation of the stepwise approach to achieving integration are provided, from the point of design conceptualisation, data collection, analysis and further down to theory generation.

The study generated two level-1 theories by collecting numerical data on cost overruns, geotechnical index parameters and textual data on the geotechnical practices. Another level-1 theory was generated in reflexive adaptation to unanticipated social constructs emerging from the qualitative data. All level-1 theories from the quantitative and qualitative strands were triangulated to yield two “level-2 theories”: A log-regression model and a cognitive map. The approach to integration is thus explanatory sequential, and concurrent (at the second stage of transformation in the generation of level-2 theories).

The study empirically reinforces that ontological flexibility, achievable through the use of thoughtfully designed integrated mixed-methods case studies, permits the investigation of multidimensional construction phenomena in innovative ways, relevant to provide holistic theoretical and practice-based contributions.

The study practically signposts a bespoke stepwise approach to integration, in a mixed-methods case study of construction phenomena, against the contextual backdrop of its relative novelty and lack of studies delving in-depth into the theoretical nitty-gritty.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the threats to quality in mixed methods accounting research, wherein quantitative and qualitative approaches are combined in data collection, analysis and interpretation.

The paper is framed according to three perspectives. The authors first synthesize the threats to validity and reliability in quantitative and qualitative parts of mixed methods research using the quality standards of each; they then introduce an integrative framework of mixed methods research quality by Teddlie and Tashakkori. Thereafter, they address the specific threats to quality that come to the fore when inferences from the quantitative and qualitative components of the study are combined to form meta‐inferences using a legitimation framework by Onwuegbuzie and Johnson.

The authors' analysis not only indicates a wide range of threats to the validity and reliability of mixed methods research in a range of categories, but also clarifies how the three perspectives described in this paper are linked and supplement each other.

Methodological research published in English over the last decade is emphasized to create an approach to assess mixed methods accounting research. The frameworks analyzed could still be studied in greater detail. Additional perspectives on the validity and reliability of mixed methods research could also be studied and developed.

This paper furthers our understanding of such new developments in methodological research, which may be of great importance to those conducting or evaluating empirical research.

Based on a comprehensive synthesis, this paper presents and analyzes theoretical frameworks potentially useful for scholars, students and practitioners. It focuses on both traditional and novel areas of validity and reliability in mixed methods research.