Extending understandings

Theory Generation ◽

Research In Education

Mixed methods research is increasingly popular both within and beyond education because of the advantages offered by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Some mixed methods research, however, does not fully harness the potential or depth that mixed methods has to offer. In this article, I consider some of this potential in terms of how mixed methods research can contribute to addressing “wicked problems,” theory generation, and culturally responsive research. I then discuss two important considerations for quality mixed methods research: appropriate paradigmatic foundations and the genuine integration of qualitative and quantitative components. The article is intended to provide both provocations and resources for those learning about, teaching about, considering, using, or contributing to mixed methods research in education.

Mixed Methods Research

Encyclopedia of Social Work ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.989 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Daphne C. Watkins

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Data Integration ◽

Social Workers ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Social Work Research ◽

Single Study

Mixed methods research integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods into a single study to produce a more inclusive and expansive understanding of a topic. This article defines mixed methods in social work research, and discusses design notation, language, popular mixed methods designs, and data integration. Using mixed methods provides an opportunity for social workers to take advantage of the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative approaches and to offset their weaknesses. It is important that social workers engaged in mixed methods research maximize the interpretation of their findings and articulate the advantages of using mixed methods over qualitative or quantitative methods alone. Given the unique features of the profession, it is imperative that social workers carve out a distinctive mixed methods niche for social work researchers and practitioners.

Retroductive Theorizing: A Contribution of Critical Realism to Mixed Methods Research

Journal of Mixed Methods Research ◽

10.1177/15586898211049847 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 155868982110498

Author(s):

Ferdinand C. Mukumbang

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Critical Realism ◽

Pragmatic Approach ◽

Hypothesis Formation ◽

Broad Complex

Mixed methods studies in social sciences are predominantly employed to explore broad, complex, and multifaceted issues and to evaluate policies and interventions. The integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in social sciences most often follows the Peircean pragmatic approach—abductive hypothesis formation followed by deductive and inductive testing/confirmation—with limited theorizing properties. This paper contributes to the field of mixed methods research in social sciences by explicating a two-way interaction process between mixed methods data and [social] theory in a pluralistic inferencing approach espoused by critical realism—retroductive theorizing. The paper further illustrates how through retroductive theorizing, critical realism offers a more epistemologically and ontologically grounded alternative for integrating qualitative and quantitative methods compared to pragmatism.

Innovations in Mixed Methods Evaluations

Annual Review of Public Health ◽

10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044215 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 423-442 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Lawrence A. Palinkas ◽

Sapna J. Mendon ◽

Alison B. Hamilton

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Evaluation Research ◽

Implementation Studies ◽

Effectiveness Studies

Mixed methods research—i.e., research that draws on both qualitative and quantitative methods in varying configurations—is well suited to address the increasing complexity of public health problems and their solutions. This review focuses specifically on innovations in mixed methods evaluations of intervention, program or policy (i.e., practice) effectiveness, and implementation. The article begins with an overview of the structure, function, and process of different mixed methods designs and then provides illustrations of their use in effectiveness studies, implementation studies, and combined effectiveness–implementation hybrid studies. The article then examines four specific innovations: procedures for transforming (or “quantitizing”) qualitative data, application of rapid assessment and analysis procedures in the context of mixed methods studies, development of measures to assess implementation outcomes, and strategies for conducting both random and purposive sampling, particularly in implementation-focused evaluation research. The article concludes with an assessment of challenges to integrating qualitative and quantitative data in evaluation research.

Mixed Methods in CAM Research: A Systematic Review of Studies Published in 2012

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2013/187365 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Felicity L. Bishop ◽

Michelle M. Holmes

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Complementary Medicine ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Design ◽

Quality Appraisal ◽

Appraisal Tool

Background. Mixed methods research uses qualitative and quantitative methods together in a single study or a series of related studies.Objectives. To review the prevalence and quality of mixed methods studies in complementary medicine.Methods. All studies published in the top 10 integrative and complementary medicine journals in 2012 were screened. The quality of mixed methods studies was appraised using a published tool designed for mixed methods studies.Results. 4% of papers (95 out of 2349) reported mixed methods studies, 80 of which met criteria for applying the quality appraisal tool. The most popular formal mixed methods design was triangulation (used by 74% of studies), followed by embedded (14%), sequential explanatory (8%), and finally sequential exploratory (5%). Quantitative components were generally of higher quality than qualitative components; when quantitative components involved RCTs they were of particularly high quality. Common methodological limitations were identified. Most strikingly, none of the 80 mixed methods studies addressed the philosophical tensions inherent in mixing qualitative and quantitative methods.Conclusions and Implications. The quality of mixed methods research in CAM can be enhanced by addressing philosophical tensions and improving reporting of (a) analytic methods and reflexivity (in qualitative components) and (b) sampling and recruitment-related procedures (in all components).

Triangulation

Research Methods in the Social Sciences: An A-Z of key concepts ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198850298.003.0068 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 292-296

Author(s):

Jean-Frédéric Morin ◽

Christian Olsson ◽

Ece Özlem Atikcan

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Historical Evolution ◽

Historical Overview ◽

Consensual Definition ◽

Insight Into

This chapter looks at triangulation, which is classically defined as looking at one research object from different perspectives. However, this large and consensual definition masks different approaches to triangulation and ignores its historical evolution since its emergence in social sciences literature. To gain a better insight into its current definitions, the chapter first proposes a brief historical overview and highlight its different meanings. It then illustrates how triangulation can be used in a research design in order to gain extra knowledge. Finally, the chapter talks about mixed-methods research and its relationship with triangulation. In the context of the tensions opposing qualitative and quantitative research, triangulation is used by mixed-methods research to justify that qualitative and quantitative methods should systematically be articulated.

Combining qualitative and quantitative methods in studying education

Zbornik Instituta za pedagoska istrazivanja ◽

10.2298/zipi0901045s ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 45-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Slavica Sevkusic

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Mathematics Curriculum ◽

Basic Research ◽

Social Phenomena ◽

The Third ◽

Research Orientations

In the humanities, in the last two decades, there has been an evident increase of research combining quantitative and qualitative methods, techniques, approaches, concepts or language. This paper discusses the arguments for and against these research drafts, which most often appear in literature under the title mixed methods research. While some authors consider this type of research as the announcement of the third paradigm in studying social phenomena and the approach that shifts the war between the two paradigms into the past, other authors claim that the paradigms underlying the two basic research orientations are incompatible because they study essentially different phenomena, and therefore the methods from two research traditions cannot be combined in any way. The third viewpoint, which we advocate as well, argues that qualitative and quantitative methods cannot be applied together in one draft for the purposes of triangulation or cross-validation, but that they can be combined for complementary objectives. This paper describes the example of mixed methods draft of complementary objectives in pedagogy, which refers to evaluation of mathematics curriculum. The example shows that combining qualitative and quantitative methods is not only possible, but that it creates the conditions for arriving at data which would not be possible to obtain using only one or the other approach.

Mixed Methods in the Organizational Sciences

Organizational Research Methods ◽

10.1177/1094428116687026 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 179-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

José F. Molina-Azorin ◽

Donald D. Bergh ◽

Kevin G. Corley ◽

David J. Ketchen

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Future Work ◽

Organizational Sciences

A growing methodological trend is emerging from the recognition that integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in the same study, that is, employing a mixed methods approach, can provide the necessary empirical intricacy and rigor to match the complexities of organizational phenomena. The authors describe opportunities and challenges of mixed methods research in the organizational sciences, explain how the articles offered in this Feature Topic help to advance mixed methods in our field, and offer suggestions for future work that may create additional progress.

A Generative Sequential Mixed Methods Approach Using Quantitative Measures to Enhance Social Constructionist Inquiry

Journal of Mixed Methods Research ◽

10.1177/1558689820986273 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 155868982098627

Author(s):

Diego Romaioli

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Social Scientists ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Sequential Mixed Methods

In order to enhance core mixed methods research designs, social scientists need an approach that incorporates developments in the social constructionist perspective. This work describes a study that aimed to promote occupational well-being in hospital departments where employees are at risk of burnout, based on a constructionist inquiry developed starting from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Taking this study as an example, we define a “generative sequential mixed methods approach” as a process that involves consulting quantitative studies to identify criticalities on which to conduct focused, transformative investigations. The article contributes by envisaging ways to mix qualitative and quantitative methods that consider a “generative” and “future-forming” orientation to research, in line with recent shifts in social psychology.

Practical mixed methods strategies used to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods in community-based primary health care research

Family Practice ◽

10.1093/fampra/cmz010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 666-671 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Navdeep Kaur ◽

Isabelle Vedel ◽

Reem El Sherif ◽

Pierre Pluye

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Primary Health Care ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Qualitative Synthesis ◽

Community Based ◽

Primary Health

Abstract Background Mixed methods (MM) are common in community-based primary health care (CBPHC) research studies. Several strategies have been proposed to integrate qualitative and quantitative components in MM, but they are seldom well conceptualized and described. The purpose of the present review was to identify and describe practical MM strategies and combinations of strategies used to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods in CBPHC research. Methods A methodological review with qualitative synthesis (grouping) was performed. Records published in English in 2015 were retrieved from the Scopus bibliographic database. Eligibility criteria were: CBPHC empirical study, MM research with detailed description of qualitative and quantitative methods and their integration. Data were extracted from included studies and grouped using a conceptual framework comprised of three theoretical types of MM integration, the seven combinations of these types and nine practical strategies (three per type of integration) and multiple combinations of strategies. Results Among the 151 articles reporting CBPHC and MM studies retrieved, 54 (35.7%) met the inclusion criteria for this review. The included studies provided examples of the three theoretical types of MM integration, the seven combinations of these types as well as the nine practical strategies. Overall, 15 combinations of these strategies were observed. No emerging strategy was observed that was not predicted by the conceptual framework. Conclusions This review can provide guidance to CBPHC researchers for planning, conducting and reporting practical strategies and combinations of strategies used for integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in MM research.

Article Commentary: Mixed Methods in Visitor Studies Research

Journal of Interpretation Research ◽

10.1177/109258720000500104 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 45-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Steven S. Yalowitz ◽

Marcella D. Wells

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Research Methods ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Visitor Studies ◽

Quantitative Research Methods ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Research Studies

In visitor studies, there has been some debate about the use of qualitative versus quantitative research methods. Many evaluators understand the advantages and disadvantages of both methods, but deciding on the most appropriate method can still be problematic. This article summarizes the tenets of both qualitative and quantitative methods and provides examples of visitor studies for each. It also reviews several research studies that have successfully used mixed methods to evaluate visitors.