Finally, most research on social ties and health has relied on assessment of quantitative data sources. Quantitative data are essential for identifying patterns between variables in the general population and, particularly, for revealing how social location (e.g., as defined by life course stage, race, and gender) is associated with regularity in social experiences (e.g., relationships and health). However, population-level data are limited in their ability to reveal rich social contexts that allow us to analyze the meanings, dynamics, and processes that link social ties to health over time. Thus, blending qualitative and quantitative methods provides the opportunity to build on the strengths of both methodologies and to address how structure and meaning coalesce to shape health outcomes at the population level (Pearlin 1992). Information obtained from qualitative data may also suggest new explanations (e.g., new psychosocial mechanisms or connections between mechanisms) for relationship/health linkages, and for group differences in those linkages, and those explanations can be further explored using population-level data.
