scholarly journals Exploiting the emergent nature of mixed methods designs: insights from a mixed methods impact evaluation in Malawi

Author(s):  
Manuela De Allegri ◽  
Stephan Brenner ◽  
Christabel Kambala ◽  
Jacob Mazalale ◽  
Adamson S Muula ◽  
...  

Abstract The application of mixed methods in Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) has expanded remarkably. Nevertheless, a recent review has highlighted how many mixed methods studies do not conceptualize the quantitative and the qualitative component as part of a single research effort, failing to make use of integrated approaches to data collection and analysis. More specifically, current mixed methods studies rarely rely on emergent designs as a specific feature of this methodological approach. In our work, we postulate that explicitly acknowledging the emergent nature of mixed methods research by building on a continuous exchange between quantitative and qualitative strains of data collection and analysis leads to a richer and more informative application in the field of HPSR. We illustrate our point by reflecting on our own experience conducting the mixed methods impact evaluation of a complex health system intervention in Malawi, the Results Based Financing for Maternal and Newborn Health Initiative. We describe how in the light of a contradiction between the initial set of quantitative and qualitative findings, we modified our design multiple times to include additional sources of quantitative and qualitative data and analytical approaches. To find an answer to the initial riddle, we made use of household survey data, routine health facility data, and multiple rounds of interviews with both healthcare workers and service users. We highlight what contextual factors made it possible for us to maintain the high level of methodological flexibility that ultimately allowed us to solve the riddle. This process of constant reiteration between quantitative and qualitative data allowed us to provide policymakers with a more credible and comprehensive picture of what dynamics the intervention had triggered and with what effects, in a way that we would have never been able to do had we kept faithful to our original mixed methods design.

Author(s):  
Hatice Leblebici ◽  
Azmi Türkan

In this study, teacher candidates’ attitudes, self-efficacy perceptions towards inclusive education, and their situation towards in-class practices were determined. A total of a hundred thirty three pre-service teachers participated in the research voluntarily. The study was designed according to the parallel mixed methods research in which both quantitative and qualitative data (QUAN + QUAL) were used together. As data collection tools, “Attitude Scale towards Inclusive Education”, “Self-Efficacy Scale for Inclusive Education” and “In-class Practice Scale for Inclusive Education” were used. In addition, during the collection of qualitative data, teacher candidates were asked to complete the statement, “In my opinion, inclusive education is like…. because….” To determine their metaphorical perceptions. When the results of the study were examined, teacher candidates, it was determined that the perceptions of self-efficacy towards inclusive education and the concern for personal equipment differ in terms of various variables. In addition, the participants chose the positive metaphors that they produced for inclusive education. Among these metaphors, respect for differences, acceptance of diversity is expressed as coexistence due to the structure of inclusive education that unites society.


Author(s):  
Tim Dedeaux

Within the field of educational research, there are several methods, approaches, and concerns a potential researcher must be made aware of. This chapter serves as an introduction to the process of educational research, and as such, is intended for novice researchers seeking to gain an overview of the process of envisioning, designing, and carrying out a successful research project. Further, this chapter addresses the kinds of research that are possible within the academic field, some of the ethical and practical considerations involved in human subject research, and best methodological practices. Four major methods of research are discussed: qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, and action research. Each method is provided with information on the subtypes of research within each area, appropriate methods of data collection and analysis, and acceptable formats for reporting results for each methodological type.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 160940691987459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy M. Archibald ◽  
Rachel C. Ambagtsheer ◽  
Mavourneen G. Casey ◽  
Michael Lawless

Advances in communication technologies offer new opportunities for the conduct of qualitative research. Among these, Zoom—an innovative videoconferencing platform—has a number of unique features that enhance its potential appeal to qualitative and mixed-methods researchers. Although studies have explored the use of information and communication technologies for conducting research, few have explored both researcher and participant perspectives on the use of web and videoconferencing platforms. Further, data are lacking on the benefits and challenges of using Zoom as a data collection method. In this study, we explore the feasibility and acceptability of using Zoom to collect qualitative interview data within a health research context in order to better understand its suitability for qualitative and mixed-methods researchers. We asked 16 practice nurses who participated in online qualitative interviews about their experiences of using Zoom and concurrently recorded researcher observations. Although several participants experienced technical difficulties, most described their interview experience as highly satisfactory and generally rated Zoom above alternative interviewing mediums such as face-to-face, telephone, and other videoconferencing services, platforms, and products. Findings suggest the viability of Zoom as a tool for collection of qualitative data because of its relative ease of use, cost-effectiveness, data management features, and security options. Further research exploring the utility of Zoom is recommended in order to critically assess and advance innovations in online methods.


Author(s):  
Selin Üreten ◽  
Johanna Spallek ◽  
Ece Üreten ◽  
Dieter Krause

This contribution demonstrates the application of the new Design Method Validation System ( DMVS) for the validation of engineering design methods in product development. The application example is a case from the medical branch. The product design method Design for Mass Adaptation ( DfMAd) with individualization and modification steps as triggers is compared to an adapted design method with product individualization but without modification triggers. This experimental study was conducted in accordance with the DMVS procedure. Measured outcomes refer to the usefulness, applicability and acceptance of the design method DfMAd. Two groups of student participants were compared to each other through research tools based on quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Findings show that the considered DfMAd phase successfully leads to the desired benefit for the consideration of variant-oriented alternatives, thus confirming the test hypothesis. In the example of a product, a crutch, a high treatment quality can be achieved by specific adaptability of the product. In addition, it is shown that DMVS is suitable for the development of experiments and that the data collection means are differently suited for the validation of the three criteria.


2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wassila Naamani Mehanna

The aim of this research was to establish effective e-learning practice in higher education. This was achieved by looking at examples of different pedagogic techniques employed in several cases. The effectiveness of these techniques was established by looking at the students’ outcomes on these courses. This study has adopted a sequential mixed methodology characterized by an initial phase of qualitative data collection and analysis, which was followed by a phase of quantitative data collection and analysis. The first phase of the study involved collecting a year of data from a postgraduate programme. A grounded approach was used to analyse one million words of online conferences or discussions, and led to the emergence of 29 pedagogic behaviours. These pedagogic behaviours were then developed into a coding instrument. The second phase, hypothetico-deductive analysis, confirmed their presence in three other cases, five million words of online interactions, and established their associations with students’ learning and outcomes. The findings suggest seven clusters of pedagogies correlated with students’ grades and the effect size calculation revealed an educational significance for all of them. This indicates that if they are employed in online classrooms they are likely to enhance students’ learning and outcomes.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000259582


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer J Mease

This article introduces applied tensional analysis as a methodological framework that integrates constitutive ontologies (that depict organizations as processes in constant states of emerging or becoming) with the applied need for practitioners to understand and navigate the everyday exigencies of their organizational experiences. Applied tensional analysis centers analysis on tensions as the key to understanding organizational becoming in contrast to approaches that assume organizations are stable entities and consequently focus on patterns, themes, or laws. The applied tensional analysis framework offers four analytical foci (context, tensions, enacted responses, and repertoires) organized into two loops (analytical and change) as guides for data collection and analysis. While the analytical loop orients scholars to the current and past configurations of an organization’s emergence, the change loop emphasizes the multitude of available responses to a particular tension and the constitutive implications of those responses for organizational becoming. As a new methodological approach, applied tensional analysis suggests that organizational knowledge requires more than awareness of what an organization is and includes awareness of organizational potential and what an organization might become.


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