Mixed method research design, spearheaded by the author of the best-selling
Research Design text (Second Edition, SAGE 2002), combines the latest thinking about mixed methods research designs with practical, step-by-step guidelines for the decisions that must be made in designing a mixed methods research study. The text:
- offers a practical, how-to guide for designing a mixed methods study
- presents examples from actual, published mixed methods studies drawn across the social, behavioural, health, and education disciplines
- incorporates activities and exercises for classroom use or for use by the researcher in preparing designs
- contains a full glossary of terms for quick reference or as a study tool
- illustrates designs using visual diagrams and flowcharts
- goes through the entire research process (formulating questions, designing, collecting, interpreting, etc.) using four major types of mixed methods designs
Mixed methods research is defined as a procedure for collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single case study or series of studies and is becoming more common in studies across the social, behavioural, and health sciences as well as education.
Vicki L. Plano Clark, Ph.D., is a research assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, co-director of the Office of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research, and managing editor of the new Journal of Mixed Methods Research (Sage Publications) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Her specialization includes mixed methods research designs and qualitative research. She is interested in the procedural issues that arise when implementing different designs and how mixed methods research is applied in different disciplines. She has co-authored numerous methodological discussions as well as empirical studies using qualitative and mixed methods approaches in science education, family research, and family medicine. In addition, she served as the Laboratory Manager in the UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy (1993-2005), working with the Research in Physics Education Group, and was a principal investigator on three National Science Foundation projects.
John W. Creswell is a Professor of Educational Psychology at Teachers College, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is affiliated with a graduate program in educational psychology that specializes in quantitative and qualitative methods in education. In this program, he specializes in qualitative and quantitative research designs and methods, multimethod research, and faculty and academic leadership issues in colleges and universities.
