The authors present a conceptual analysis and a demonstration of the synthesis of two methodologies, set in two very different academic traditions, in a single research design used to investigate an academic department: Carspecken’s five-stage critical qualitative research (CQR) and Barker’s Behavior Setting Survey (BSS). They show that (a) conceptually, constructs associated with the BSS can be relocated within CQR as contributions to its theory of social systems, and (b) methodologically, procedures associated with the BSS contribute to the field studies of social systems. By employing features of both methodologies together, a broader, sharper methodological framework for research on human activities in relation to physical, social, and cultural contexts can be achieved.

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