A Mixed Methods Approach

Abstract

This article highlights the benefits of jointly using cultural modeling and cultural consensus analysis for the purpose of triangulation in research in which a cultural group’s point of view is desired. Cultural models are those presupposed, taken-for-granted models of knowledge and thought used in the course of everyday life to guide a person’s understanding of the world. These models can be identified by discourse analysis. Cultural consensus analysis is a quantitative-based methodological tool that asks if shared knowledge of a specific cultural domain exists within a group of informants. In presenting their results, the authors recommend the joint use of these two methods in research in which a broad understanding of a cultural group’s perspective on a given topic is needed.