Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

multiple methods in one study. Finally I will discuss the ontological implications of
multiple methods.
4.1.1 Problems and potentials in using multiple methods – the epistemological
level
The scientific world is in a multi-paradigmatic stage, and there is almost never only
one method to answer a specific research question (Robson 2002). However, the three
major research cultures – natural science, social science, and humanistic science – still
have a tendency to emphasize certain research strategies and evaluation standards,
which are not identical. Qualitative research is still very rare in natural science, and
quantitative research is still only a niche in humanistic science. The broadest scope is
actually found within social science, and especially when it comes to ‘real world
research’ (Robson 2002) the social scientists have developed a wide spectrum of both
quantitative and qualitative strategies and methods, and reflections on when and how
to combine methods. Robson’s book has been an important resource and source of
inspiration for me (as for many practitioner-researchers in music therapy), and in this
section I will refer to his very pragmatic and realistic discussion of multiple
methods 45 .
In fact, Robson seems to advocate the use of multiple methods: “Using more than one
[method] can have substantial advantages, even though it almost inevitably adds to
the time investment required” (p. 370). The epistemological advantages may be 1) the
reduction of inappropriate certainty (nice, ‘clear-cut’ results may not be ‘right’); 2)
multiple methods permit triangulation (of sources, methods, investigators, or
theories); 3) they may be used to address different but complementary research
questions within one study; and 4) they may enhance the interpretability of the results.
This study attempts to take advantages within all four areas:
1) The outcome study and the interview study give more complete answers to the
research question together than separately
2) Many sources, methods and theories are brought together in this study
45 Other sources of inspiration from the music therapy literature have been Aldridge (1996, 1999),
Bruscia (1995), Smeijsters (1997), Ansdell & Pavlicevic (2001).
122