A Pragmatic Mixed-Methods Analysis: Identifying Perspectives and Sentiments with Social Media Data

This case study describes how an initially pragmatic paradigm led to a research process in which two different research methods were combined to analyze a new kind of data source, the social media, to study the perceptions and sentiments people had of a national semi-governmental organization. The case shows that social media can be a relevant data source that can lead to valid research results, if research methods are carefully considered both epistemologically and practically and—if necessary, mixed—and that such epistemological and practical reasons can allow researchers to adopt a pragmatic paradigm into choosing the most appropriate research method or combination of research methods.