An Exploration of the Implications of Sustainable Construction Practice: Mixed Methods Research Approach

Sustainable construction involves multi-disciplinary work from diverse stakeholders. The complex and complicated relationships between different actors require a more thorough examination in assessing sustainability performance. The complexity necessitates adopting a holistic perspective to appreciate the multidimensional realities of sustainability using mixed methods. Mixed methods offer different methodological primacy and offset weaknesses associated with standalone quantitative or qualitative methods. In this chapter, a study is presented to demonstrate how quantitative data from questionnaire surveys and qualitative data from interviews can be integrated to give a more holistic view of the implementation of the three pillars of sustainable construction. The aim of the study was to explore the stakeholder perceptions of adopting the three pillars of sustainability in construction and examine their implications. A concurrent mixed methods design was adopted for the study. Both qualitative and quantitative results suggested the disproportionate implementation of the environmental, social and economic pillars in the pursuit of sustainability. The use of mixed methods provides a richer understanding of complex sustainability issues. There are considerable benefits of using mixed methods to appreciate the “truth” by taking a synergistic view from multiple perspectives