Using Photographs in Mixed Methods Research: An Illustration Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses from Consumer Research

Photograph analysis poses a novel methodological challenge for mixed methods researchers. In this paper, we argue that photographs are a valid data source that are not outside of the quantitative–qualitative binary and, hence, can be analyzed and used for integration, applying mixed methods principles. We summarize photograph analysis methods from different scientific fields and contribute to the field of mixed methods by proposing a mixed methods framework for analyzing visual data that allows the flexible application and integration of different quantitative and qualitative photograph analysis methods by focusing on data transformation. We use an illustrative example from consumer research.

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

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.

Integration of Narratives Into Mixed Methods Research: An Example From a Study on the Value of Social Support to Older People With Cancer

While many advances have been made mixing other methodologies with mixed methods research (MMR), there are few examples of narrative MMR or detailed procedures for integrating the narrative approach into mixed methods studies. This article contributes to the MMR field an example of integrating narratives in MMR by applying a methodological approach that is shaped by stories. The example integrated findings from cancer narratives with survey data to explore emotional support and quality of life of older people living with cancer. Integration was achieved by, firstly, following a thread through the research phases, and secondly, by using joint displays to align findings. The narrative MMR methodology presented is a tool for putting stories at the center of the research process.

Systematic Reviews of Systematic Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Studies Reviews in Healthcare Research: How to Assess the Methodological Quality of Included Reviews?

Conducting a review of systematic reviews can be challenging, especially when combining systematic quantitative, qualitative and mixed studies reviews. In this methodological discussion paper, we propose (a) a typology for categorizing various types of review of reviews and (b) an exploration of criteria pertaining to three existing critical appraisal tools (ROBIS, AMSTAR 2, and MMSR) to identify those that could be adapted for qualitative and mixed studies reviews. Further work has to be done to develop methodological guidance in conducting, interpreting, and reporting reviews of reviews that combine qualitative and quantitative data.

Integrating Using a Crossover Analysis With Formative Joint Displays in Mixed Methods Research

We show in this methodological article how formative joint displays can be used to integrate multiple data facets. Joint displays in the published literature are intended to be polished research products that illustrate the connections between quantitative and qualitative inferences. However, we contend using joint displays formatively during analysis can yield more comprehensive metainferences. Accordingly, we introduce a process called joint display coding to formalize the process toward these metainferences. Our approach draws upon the “text-in-context” coding approach and intersects it with a crossover analysis. We showcase an example of joint display coding using a descriptive study of U.S. institutional webpages in higher education. Integrated themes were developed by blending the structural and textual facets of webpage data.