Qualitative and Quantitative Research: Can A Marriage Finally be Consummated?

‍© Howard Gardner 2026 ‍ ‍ When I was a beginning doctoral student in psychology—sixty years ago—there was a relatively sharp line between two kinds of research. One was strictly experimental: carefully selected and controlled samples and conditions, data readily analyzed, and often revealing clear cut, hopefully replicable results. The other approach was “softer”—focused on observation,…