Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-50 University Terrace, 8303-112 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6G2T4, Canada.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 Sep;7(9):3478-88. doi: 10.3390/ijerph7093478. Epub 2010 Sep 16.
Like other areas of health research, there has been increasing use of qualitative methods to study public health problems such as injuries and injury prevention. Likewise, the integration of qualitative and quantitative research (mixed-methods) is beginning to assume a more prominent role in public health studies. Likewise, using mixed-methods has great potential for gaining a broad and comprehensive understanding of injuries and their prevention. However, qualitative and quantitative research methods are based on two inherently different paradigms, and their integration requires a conceptual framework that permits the unity of these two methods. We present a theory-driven framework for viewing qualitative and quantitative research, which enables us to integrate them in a conceptually sound and useful manner. This framework has its foundation within the philosophical concept of complementarity, as espoused in the physical and social sciences, and draws on Bergson's metaphysical work on the 'ways of knowing'. Through understanding how data are constructed and reconstructed, and the different levels of meaning that can be ascribed to qualitative and quantitative findings, we can use a mixed-methods approach to gain a conceptually sound, holistic knowledge about injury phenomena that will enhance our development of relevant and successful interventions.
与健康研究的其他领域一样，定性方法在研究伤害和伤害预防等公共卫生问题方面的应用也越来越多。同样，定性和定量研究的整合（混合方法）也开始在公共卫生研究中发挥更重要的作用。同样，使用混合方法对于广泛而全面地了解伤害及其预防具有巨大的潜力。然而，定性和定量研究方法基于两种固有的不同范式，它们的整合需要一个概念框架，允许这两种方法的统一。我们提出了一个理论驱动的框架来观察定性和定量研究，使我们能够以合理和有用的方式将它们整合在一起。这个框架的基础是物理和社会科学中所拥护的哲学互补概念，并借鉴了伯格森关于“认识方式”的形而上学著作。通过了解数据是如何构建和重构的，以及定性和定量发现可以赋予不同层次的意义，我们可以使用混合方法来获得关于伤害现象的合理、整体的知识，从而增强我们制定相关和成功干预措施的能力。
