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In defence of mixed method in autism research

  • Writer: Lii Brooke
    Lii Brooke
  • 4 days ago
  • 1 min read

Quant and qual, together forever.


What? No. Mixed method research is a way of bypassing difficult ideological questions. You either believe that everything is subjective interpretation or you don't. You can't just "bridge".


Maybe as an early-career doctoral researcher I'm powered by coffee, lofty ideas and naivety. But, look, it's really simple. In the real world, we already combine quant and qual, positivism and interpretivism. Every day. We must, otherwise we'd perish.


There are accepted mathematical truths in science and the beauty of inimitable individuality in humanities. You wouldn't leap off a table without care because you have chosen to interpret gravity differently one day. Similarly, you wouldn't dismiss the dark captivation of Coleridge's "Christabel" just because it's a product of one person's imagination and cannot be generalised from.


So, if we already assume the pragmatist position intuitively in order to engage with our reality, why then the war of ideologies? I believe mixed method in autism research and in social science in general is perhaps the least reductive option. It gives meaningful abstraction and human depth.



Black-and-white portrait of Lii Brooke, autistic therapist, data analyst and researcher, at a desk.
How can you possibly disagree?

About the author

Lii Brooke is a BACP-accredited autistic counsellor and doctoral researcher, supporting autistic professionals in demanding careers with burnout recovery and workplace masking reduction. She draws on clinical training, doctoral research at Sheffield Hallam University and lived experience as an autistic person in a management consultancy tech role alongside private practice.

 

Credentials

 

  • Accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Accred., membership 405425)

  • Listed on the BACP register, which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Autism with Distinction, Sheffield Hallam University (2025)

  • Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, Windsor Forest Colleges Group (2023)

  • Doctoral Researcher in Autism Studies, Sheffield Hallam University, supervised by Dr Luke Beardon and Dr Stephen Connolly

 

Lii works in person from a dedicated therapy studio in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, and online across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Her research investigates how autistic adults' own understanding of autism shapes their life outcomes.

 

Read more about Lii

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