Title: 
Headings: The Nature and Design of Mixed Methods Research
The
 
Nature
 
and
 
Design
 
of
 
Mixed
 
Methods
 
Research

What
 
is
 
Mixed
 
Methods
 
Research?

When
 
Should
 
Mixed
 
Methods
 
Be
 
Used?

How
 
Should
 
a
 
Mixed
 
Methods
 
Study
 
be
 
Designed?

What
 
are
 
the
 
Methodological
 
Challenges
 
in
 
Conducting
 
Mixed
 
Methods
 
Investigations?

Key
 
References
 
and
 
Resources


Content: A
 
salient
 
strength
 
of
 
qualitative
 
research
 
is
 
its
 
focus
 
on
 
the
 
contexts
 
and
 
meaning
 
of
 
human
 
lives
 
and
 
experiences
 
for
 
the
 
purpose
 
of
 
inductive
 
or
 
theory-development
 
driven
 
research. It
 
is
 
a
 
systematic
 
and
 
rigorous
 
form
 
of
 
inquiry
 
that
 
uses
 
methods
 
of
 
data
 
collection
 
such
 
as
 
in-depth
 
interviews,
 
ethnographic
 
observation,
 
and
 
review
 
of
 
documents. Qualitative
 
data
 
help
 
researchers
 
understand
 
processes,
 
especially
 
those
 
that
 
emerge
 
over
 
time,
 
provide
 
detailed
 
information
 
about
 
setting
 
or
 
context,
 
and
 
emphasize
 
the
 
voices
 
of
 
participants
 
through
 
quotes. Qualitative
 
methods
 
facilitate
 
the
 
collection
 
of
 
data
 
when
 
measures
 
do
 
not
 
exist
 
and
 
provide
 
a
 
depth
 
of
 
understanding
 
of
 
concepts. Typical
 
qualitative
 
approaches
 
used
 
in
 
health
 
research
 
are
 
case
 
studies,
 
grounded
 
theory,
 
ethnography,
 
and
 
phenomenology. The
 
nature
 
of
 
quantitative
 
research
 
and
 
its
 
evidence: Quantitative
 
research
 
is
 
a
 
mode
 
of
 
inquiry
 
used
 
often
 
for
 
deductive
 
research,
 
when
 
the
 
goal
 
is
 
to
 
test
 
theories
 
or
 
hypotheses,
 
gather
 
descriptive
 
information,
 
or
 
examine
 
relationships
 
among
 
variables. These
 
variables
 
are
 
measured
 
and
 
yield
 
numeric
 
data
 
that
 
can
 
be
 
analyzed
 
statistically. Quantitative
 
data
 
have
 
the
 
potential
 
to
 
provide
 
measurable
 
evidence,
 
to
 
help
 
to
 
establish
 
(probable)
 
cause
 
and
 
effect,
 
Best
 
Practices
 
for
 
Mixed
 
Methods
 
Research
 
in
 
the
 
Health
 
Sciences
to
 
yield
 
efficient
 
data
 
collection
 
procedures,
 
to
 
create
 
the
 
possibility
 
of
 
replication
 
and
 
generalization
 
to
 
a
 
population,
 
to
 
facilitate
 
the
 
comparison
 
of
 
groups,
 
and
 
to
 
provide
 
insight
 
into
 
a
 
breadth
 
of
 
experiences. Typical
 
quantitative
 
approaches
 
used
 
in
 
the
 
health
 
sciences
 
are
 
descriptive
 
surveys,
 
observational
 
studies,
 
case-control
 
studies,
 
randomized
 
controlled
 
trials,
 
and
 
time-series
 
designs.