This paper presents the rationale for and effects of utilizing both qualitative and quantitative analyses in naturalistic research. The specific research project examined was titled "Alternative Patterns for Strengthening Community Service Programs in Institutions of Higher Education." (The project was a 2-year nationwide study conducted through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and focused on alternatives used by decisionmakers in a variety of settings in which it was thought that strengthening and continuation of community service programs had occurred as a result of developmental efforts funded under title I (HEA, 1965). Data gathered from field interviews in six States were analyzed qualitatively through the use of content analysis and quantitatively through the use correlational and multivariate analyses.) The body of this paper describes the research approach used in the project in terms of the various activities that were undertaken, their relationships to each other, and why they were done, concluding that (1) the complementary use of qualitative and quantitative analyses provided a basis by which the results of the data analysis of the first and second years could be compared; and (2) when qualitative and quantitative findings from each year were compared, findings from the first year were generally substantiated and extended. (SH)