It’s a Match? Understanding and Selecting Qualitative, Quantitative, or Mixed Methods Approaches for Culturally Relevant Research on/with Emerging Adults

This chapter supports researchers in aligning qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research with the goals of a particular study. Whatever the research design, this chapter uplifts a decolonial critique of research and outlines considerations for just and quality scholarship. It disrupts how dominant research paradigms privilege particular notions, tools, and methods at the expense of other perspectives that facilitate capturing the lived experiences of diverse individuals and communities with a focus on emerging adults across contexts. To maximize the benefits and to redress the oppressive potential of research, this chapter outlines steps to work toward just and impactful human development scholarship focusing on emerging adulthood. This chapter reviews how to align the theoretical frameworks guiding research questions and designs that contribute to producing ecologically valid scholarship with and about emerging adults.