Quality and quantity in mobility biographies research: experiences from a mixed method study of non-cyclists in Germany (original) (raw)

2020, Mobility and Travel Behaviour Across the Life Course

Mobility biographies research since the 2000s has generated an impressive range of insights into both structural and individual influences on people's modal choice, including life events and 'mobility milestones' (Rau and Manton 2016) that either reinforce or reconfigure people's mobility needs and options. In contrast, people's (in)voluntary non-engagement in specific mobility practices such as cycling and related dynamics across the life course remain seriously under-researched, calling for mixed-methods inquiries that can address 'what' and 'why' questions. Drawing on RadAktiv, a mixed methods study of non-cyclists in Germany that investigates the impact of critical and incisive life events on people's cycling practices, this chapter attends specifically to chances and challenges that arise when combining qualitative and quantitative modes of enquiry in mobility biographies research. Focusing on conceptual and methodological issues surrounding the identification and social-scientific investigation of life events, it advocates for a technical approach to mixing methods. It argues that such an approach, while problematic in some respects, is ideally suited to accommodate the existing diversity of ontological and epistemological viewpoints within the mobility biographies research community. Importantly, it would serve to expand the methodological strengths of this important research field by sparking fruitful epistemological and methodological debates across disciplinary boundaries.

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