Innovation in Mixed Methods Research: A Practical Guide to Integrative Thinking with Complexity

Explaining both why and how to use mixed methods for discovering solutions to complex research problems, this guide gives readers the tools to adapt approaches to suit their own research conditions. Written in a warm, encouraging tone and packed with helpful diagrams and visual organizers, it provides an easy-to-follow map to the mixed methods process, covering everything from ‘what is mixed methods research?’ to framing, integrating, and describing a complexity-sensitive mixed methods approach.

Features include:

• Key questions to navigate the important concepts of each chapter
• Practice alerts to provide practical tips on working in the field
• Chapter check-ins to assess development of key skills
• Further reading to expand and deepen knowledge of mixed methods practices
• An annotated glossary to get to grips with foundational terms and revise for exams

Supported throughout by real-world examples and advice from the author and other mixed methods experts, this book helps readers succeed in their projects and think innovatively about the methods they use. 

Cheryl N. Poth, PhD, is a Professor in the Faculty of Education and faculty member of the

research-intensive Centre for Research and Applied Measurement and Evaluation at the

University of Alberta. In this role, she has developed and taught graduate-level research methods

and program evaluation courses in addition to supervising and mentoring students, faculty,

and local as well as global community members in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods

research. She is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, three books as well as

numerous book chapters. Her work has been recognized by the American Educational Research

Association with the Division D Significant Contributions to Research Methodology Award

in 2023 (with Peggy Shannon-Baker) and by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association

with the Most Promising New Textbook Award in 2020 and the McGuffey Longevity Award

for Qualitative Research book in 2018 (with John Creswell). She served as Editor of the SAGE

Handbook of Mixed Methods Research (2023) and as Guest Coeditor of several journal special

issues, including the International Journal of Qualitative Methods. In addition to more than

40 invited talks and 150 conference presentations, she has led research methods workshops

with diverse audiences on four continents. She served as an Advisory Board Member of the

International Institute of Qualitative Methodology (2014–2020); the President of the Mixed

Methods International Research Association (2017–2018); a Research Fellow at the University

of South Africa (2018–2020); a Helen Glass Scholar in the College of Nursing within the Rady

Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba (2022); and as a MERIT Visiting

Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University (2023–2025). In 2009, she

cofounded the interdisciplinary Alberta Clinical and Community-Based Evaluation Research

Team to advance innovative community–university research partnership supports for program

planning and impact assessments of service delivery for individuals with complex needs. She

serves as the Methodologist on several cross-disciplinary research teams and has led federally,

provincially, and locally funded research projects. She is an Associate Editor of the Journal of

Mixed Methods Research and is an editorial board member of several journals. Updates on her

work can be found on her website at https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/cheryl-poth/.