Applying qualitative and quantitative research: a social impact assessment of a fishery

Increasingly, human geographers are being encouraged to combine qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The combination involves more than simply juxtaposing approaches; instead, some of the barriers between them need to be removed. This, however, is often easier said than done. Here we address the issue of combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches through a concrete example: a social impact assessment of the rock lobster fishery in Tasmania, Australia. In addition, we discuss how the research was applied politically by people outside the academy. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.