In order to examine social change of gender specific life courses in Germany, results and methodological procedures an empirical research project, which deals with life course and biography research under the perspective of gender, will be presented. As social change in the life course depends on the interlacing of individual actors and social structure, the analysis of life course patterns requires an innovative mixed-methods approach - the integration of quantitative techniques. After a theoretical discussion of the opportunities and restrictions associated with linking qualitative and quantitative methods, their integration is illustrated in practice (with examples of our own research). The research design and the results show the advantages and fruitfulness of the mixed-methods approach within this research project.
qualitative methods; quantitative methods; gender; biography research; quantitative techniques; mixed-methods
