Methodological approaches

Chapter 2 of Performing Music Research reviews three methodological approaches: qualitative, quantitative, and multistrategy. While all three approaches can be used to shed light on musical topics, qualitative approaches tend to elicit an understanding of individuals’ idiosyncratic perspectives and experiences, whereas quantitative approaches tend to focus on larger-scale, more generalizable explanations. The chapter considers the main features of these two approaches and addresses the increasing body of work combining qualitative and quantitative forms of enquiry in multistrategy research. It delves deeper into each of the three methodological approaches to illuminate some of the specific strategies associated with them, ranging from the ethnographic exploration of musical cultures to experimental studies testing the very latest innovations in the field.