INTEGRATING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE-EVALUATION METHODS IN SUBSTANCE-ABUSE RESEARCH

For many years, there has been an ongoing debate about whether we should focus on qualitative or quantitative evaluation. Although prior discussions have often been adversarial (i.e., advancing one to the exclusion of the other or defending one's existence), most practitioners largely consider them to be two sides of the same coin. The need for integration is particularly evident when evaluating substance abuse programs because the individuals involved often have competing contextual demands and multiple problems that require the use of multiple types of treatment, outcomes, and analysis models. Unfortunately, there is little published literature on how to do this. In this paper, some specific opportunities and techniques are identified for combining and integrating qualitative and quantitative methods from the design stage through implementation and reporting.