Mixed Methods Research

This practical book introduces a unique socio-ecological framework for understanding the field of mixed methods research and its different perspectives. Based on the framework, it addresses basic questions including: What is the mixed methods research process? How is mixed methods research defined? Why is it used? What designs are available? How does mixed methods research intersect with other research approaches? What is mixed methods research quality? How is mixed methods shaped by personal, interpersonal, and social contexts? By focusing on the topics, perspectives, and debates occurring in the field of mixed methods research, the book helps students, scholars, and researchers identify, understand, and participate in these conversations to inform their own research practice.  Mixed Methods Research is Volume 3 in the SAGE Mixed Methods Research Series.

"[This text] provides an excellent starting point to engage in the field (and key debates) concerning mixed methods as practice and theory.", "I love the perspective that this book takes. It embraces a broad view of the landscape of mixed methods research (MMR) and provides the reader with a ‘one-stop shop’ for operationalizing MMR. I believe it can serve as a ‘field guide’ to the broad and often confusing world of MMR.", "I appreciate seeing that the author(s) provided up-to-date and the most cutting-edge references on mixed methods for the reader to seek out, as needed.", "I loved the tables and textboxes. They were full of so much information and very useful to reflect on as one reads the narrative." , "It is kind of refreshing to see this new theoretical perspective for MMR that goes beyond the acknowledgement that MMR fills a void in the field of methodology as following or being viewed only from the philosophical lens of pragmatism…Their content…represents yet another viable theoretical perspective beyond pragmatism"

Vicki L. Plano Clark, Ph.D., is a professor in the Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research Methodologies area of the University of Cincinnati’s School of Education.  Her methodological scholarship aims to delineate useful designs for conducting mixed methods research, examine procedural issues associated with achieving meaningful integration within these designs, and consider larger questions about the personal, interpersonal, and social contexts for the adoption and use of mixed methods.  She recently coauthored the book Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to the Field (2016; SAGE) with Nataliya V. Ivankova and has coauthored several books with John W. Creswell, including The Mixed Methods Reader (2008; SAGE) and Understanding Research: A Consumer’s Guide (2010, 2015; Pearson Education).  She is a founding coeditor of the Mixed Methods Research Series (SAGE Publishing).  She also currently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research (JMMR) and Program Chair for the Mixed Methods Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association.  In 2011, she co-led the development of Best Practices for Mixed Methods in the Health Sciences for the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. Her teaching focuses on foundations of research methodologies and mixed methods research, including a two-semester mixed methods sequence and special topics courses.  She also engages in research and evaluation projects on a wide array of topics such as the management of cancer pain, researchers’ development of visual displays, the effectiveness of school reform initiatives, the quality of communication between attorneys and their clients, and the development of innovative curricular materials for undergraduate physics. Nataliya Ivankova, PhD, MPH, is professor in the Department of Health Services Administration with a dual appointment in the School of Nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is an applied methodologist working at the intersection of mixed methods, qualitative, community-based, and translational research. She has developed a methodological framework for a sequential quantitative to qualitative mixed methods design that was used in this study. She teaches courses in mixed methods and qualitative research, mentors doctoral students and junior faculty, and serves as a lead methodologist on funded projects. She also directs a graduate certificate program in Applications of Mixed Methods Research. She is a founding co-editor of the Mixed Methods Research Series with SAGE Publishing and is an associate editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research and a qualitative research editor for the American Journal of Health Behavior.