Why it works: Using qualitative methods in economic education research

The authors of this article present arguments for why and how qualitative research should be used in economic education. These arguments recognize the nature of economics as a discipline and economics educators’ current expertise and preferences. The authors have five goals: (i) clarifying how and why the use of qualitative research in economic education fits in with economics as a discipline; (ii) identifying practical limitations of quantitative research in economic education; (iii) reviewing the limited literature on qualitative research in economic education; (iv) proposing how qualitative and quantitative methods can be combined in a mixed methods approach that recognizes the methodological assumptions of economics and the expertise of economists, and finally, (v) suggesting characteristics of systematic and rigorous qualitative research in economic education.