Chapter 11: Reforming The Design, Application, and Teaching of Quantitative Methods for Improving Practice and edd Programs: A New Epistemology of Applied Quantitative Methods

In recent years there has been a major epistemological shift in research methods away from quantitative (QUANT) research to qualitative (QUAL) research in EdD programs. In EdD programs students are overwhelmingly choosing to conduct QUAL dissertations, and where mixed methods are used, the QUAL portion dominates. There are several reasons for this shift. QUANT research methods have become so complex that they are inaccessible and intimidating to practitioners, students, and faculty. QUAL research, on the other hand, is far more accessible and intuitive. In addition, QUAL researchers have developed a relentless series of critiques of the limitations of QUANT methods; for example, they are reductionist while extolling the advantages of the “thick” descriptions of QUAL research and the value of the stories that their method elicits.