Beyond the Opposition of Methods: Benefits of a Mixed Methods Design in Health Psychology
A. Schweizer1, M. Santiago-Delefosse1
1University of Lausanne, Institute of Psychology
In exacerbating epistemological oppositions between « post-positivist » and «constructivist » paradigms, the « Paradigm war » has entailed a focus on one of the two methods, rather than thinking about the phenomenon under investigation. This presentation aims to raise the value of combining these two methods. Through our research, we illustrate the mismatch between patients and gynaecologists facing the integration of sexuality during consultation. We conducted semi-structured interviews (N=21), 3 focus groups and a questionnaire based on the qualitative findings (N=421) in a sequential design. Qualitative methods allow the discovery of new outcomes. Indeed, our analysis highlights important gaps between gynaecologists’ and patients’ perceptions regarding for exemple the definition of sexuality. Gynaecologists reduce it to medical aspects, whilst patients would expect to discuss their sexuality at the embodied, relational and psychological levels. The questionnaire adds an additional value in confirming qualitative findings and provide further information. In our use of mixed methods, we emphasize the need for reflexive adjustements by the researcher at each stage of the research.