ATLASResearch
methods
Mixed methods/ Integrated design

Explanatory sequential

Find the pattern. Then ask why.

Begin with quantitative findings, then use a qualitative follow-up to explain or elaborate selected results. The first phase shapes sampling, questions, or both in the second.

WHEN IT FITS

A survey, experiment, or dataset identifies patterns or unexpected results that need deeper interpretation.

Strengths

  • Focuses qualitative effort on particular findings.
  • Supports deliberate selection of contrasting cases.
  • Connects a numerical pattern to plausible explanations.

Limitations

  • The second phase must wait for initial analysis.
  • Recontact and selective participation can narrow the follow-up.
  • Explanatory accounts alone do not prove causal mechanisms.

Know the boundary

The sequence is quantitative then qualitative, but the point is explanatory connection, not merely chronological order.

USED ACROSS
Banking & financeBusiness & MBAPsychologyComputer scienceEducation
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