Sequential Mixed Methods Research

As the name implies, this approach involves using different methods for different parts of a research program. But even here there are different subtypes.

In one of these a complex research problem has first been mapped (see Mapping Interdisciplinary Connections ) and then the researcher determines which method is best suited to investigating different linkages. This approach has the disadvantage that no method is perfect for investigating any link; it can be combined with Triangulation

Alternatively methods can be employed sequentially to examine any one linkage. In this approach, the results from one method are used to inform another. The results of a survey might then be used in statistical analysis of causal relations; interviews might suggest hypotheses to be tested in an experiment.