Qualitative Dominant Mixed Methods Research: Studying Stigma in People With Parkinson?s Disease

MARIA DE LOS ANGELES BACIGALUPE

Sage Research Methods: Cases: Medicine and Health

SAGE

Año: 2020; p. 1 - 21

This case study shows how I, working primarily alone, carried out a research project on people living with Parkinson's disease. The research scope of the study is movement disorders (a term that covers a broad range of diseases and syndromes such as Parkinson's disease, other neurodegenerative disorders that affect body movement, neurodevelopmental syndromes and so on),but I developed an anthropological inquiry for which a qualitative dominant mixed methods research approach was chosen. By anthropological inquiry I mean a kind of research which focuses on people's behavior and representations instead of focusing on diseases per se. In this case study I discuss the typologies and thenrecommend a type of design suitable for the practice of this research. I have included a discussion of ethical considerations as well because research onhuman subjects involves controversy, particularly when the researcher becomes familiar with the group of people participating in the research. Several lessons I learned from this case are included to show how beneficial it is to embark on research with a pragmatic, non-prejudiced and open-minded approach. The mixed methods approach in particular helped me conduct my project and achieve myobjectives. The qualitative dominant perspective in particular opened my mind as regards the subjective experience of people with Parkinson's disease while the use of a quantitative perspective allowed me to enter into this world through a path that is easier, and also better known in the medical field, than directly engaging in in-depth inquiry.