Exploring the Future of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Space in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

University education in Nigeria has been in existence for over seven decades. The expansion and development are astronomical considering the number when the first university college was established. Currently, over 198 universities are spread across the length and breadth of the country. In spite of the expansion and development in this sector over time, the mode in which Nigerian scholars and researchers conduct research is often titled toward quantitative methods, thereby abandoning qualitative and mixed methods paradigms. Effort is geared toward establishing the reasons for the overrepresentation of quantitative paradigms in research space and the future of qualitative and mixed methods paradigms in Nigerian universities. A qualitative method was adopted in this study. In line with the approach, the interpretive paradigm is used to understand and make sense from the participants’ responses on the phenomenon. Narrative analysis is used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that old scholars and researchers are novices in qualitative and mixed methods research, that quantitative methods are scientific and the findings can be submitted to generalization, hence its overrepresentation. However, foreign-trained scholars and researchers are extending the future of these research approaches in Nigerian universities through the transfer of knowledge and skills.

Citation

Akpan, L.O. (2024), "Exploring the Future of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Space in Nigerian Universities", Baroudi, S. and Lytras, M.D. (Ed.) Transformative Leadership and Sustainable Innovation in Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Emerald Studies in Higher Education, Innovation and Technology), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 93-105. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-536-120241007