The Typological Paragon: A Methodological Proposal of Mixed Designs

This article presents a reflection and a methodological proposal on the use of the typological paragon in mixed sequential designs. The paragon is defined as the average or individual profile of a particular cluster that is obtained through multivariate techniques (correspondences analysis and cluster analysis). Here we propose four applications of the typological paragon: first, as a descriptive element, which aims to account for the content; second, as an element of sampling; third, as a link or connecting element between databases with the aim of facilitating matching; and finally, as an element that allows the convergence of results. Two studies provide the empirical basis of this innovative procedure and show the practical implementation of the four uses of paragon. The first deals with the analysis of the social stratification of households in Argentina (Fachelli, 2009). The second focuses on the study and identification of employment trajectories and their mutual influence with social capital in Spain and Catalonia (Alcaide, 2013). The four uses of the paragon that derive from both investigations allow us to reflect on the potentialities and limitations of the proposed model, the typological paragon.