Comprehensive Examination Written Responses
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy

by
George E. Anderson III
Leadership
School of Business and Technology
Capella University

QUESTION 1
The mixed method has recently become a popular method of research. Analyze and compare the mixed method, qualitative and quantitative research methods. Evaluate the effectiveness of each as a valid method of research on models of military leadership.

Introduction

The sociological effects discussed by Kuhn (1996) as to the institutionalization of knowledge paradigms, may account for the fact there is a great deal of concurrence as to the nature of both qualitative
It is the belief of the positivist school that for a quantitative social researcher to validly study any phenomenon, the researcher must likewise be emotionally and intellectually detached from the objects of their study and the methods of their study. Their conclusions must not be influenced by interference or prejudice.
The view that “quantitative research is usually confined to filling in questionnaires, paper & pencil-style or administered on line” (Koller, 2008) is not entirely correct. Quantitative researchers utilize three basic designs; observation, experimentation and survey. (Baker, 2001) Observation is usually the first step in the scientific method. It is not simple viewing rather “observation consists of the systematic gathering, recording and analysis of data” (Baker, 2001). Experimental research design is “usually undertaken to determine if there is a causal relationship between the variables under investigation” (Baker, 2001). However, in social research there are serious questions as to any experimental construct. Has the experiment, by its very structure, destroyed the objectivity so prized by quantitative researchers and introduced statistical bias which would limit its value? Is the experimental design within an ethical and moral frame which has been approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Survey research is perhaps the most common quantitative research method. The overall technique is divided into three subsets;