This introduction to the Special Issue of the CALICO journal positions research in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in the wider field of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. It discusses the merits of the different approaches and links them to research paradigms that dominate the different subject areas constituting CALL research. The authors put forward arguments for the use of qualitative and mixed-method studies in CALL, claiming that not only the richness of data gathered through qualitative and mixed studies but also the epistemological stance of hermeneutic ‘understanding’ of the learner and learning can add descriptive breadth and theoretical depth to research and advance the field of CALL
