Professional Documents
Culture Documents
An Overview of Mixed Method Research
An Overview of Mixed Method Research
net/publication/233882561
CITATIONS READS
116 25,752
3 authors:
Gobnait Byrne
Trinity College Dublin
26 PUBLICATIONS 417 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
HSE & Genio Dementia Evaluation of Integrated Care for Persons with Dementia in Hospital and Community Care View project
Decision Making in the administration of prn medication in acute psychiatric setting View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Gobnait Byrne on 20 October 2014.
Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com
Additional services and information for Journal of Research in Nursing can be found at:
Subscriptions: http://jrn.sagepub.com/subscriptions
Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav
Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
Citations: http://jrn.sagepub.com/content/14/2/175.refs.html
What is This?
Introduction
Mixed methods research is emerging as a dominant paradigm in health care research
in recent years with an increase in health care researchers using this method.
A review of research commissioned by the Health Research and Development
Programme in the United Kingdom showed that 17% (n = 22) of the studies
175
176
177
178
179
Figure 1 Decision tree for mixed methods design (Creswell, et al., 2003; Creswell and
Plano Clark, 2007).
180
Figure 2 Creswell and Plano Clark (2007) typology of mixed methods research.
design of the four main research designs, and research teams are often used to imple-
ment this form of research design.
The embedded design, first described by Caracelli and Greene (1997), is charac-
terised by having one dominant method, whereas the other data set provides a sec-
ondary or supportive role. The embedded experimental model is the most common
variant of the embedded design, and the priority is given to the quantitative method-
ology, and the qualitative data set is subservient (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2007).
One of the purposes of the qualitative component may be to examine the process of
the intervention. The embedded experimental model has been previously known as
the concurrent nested mixed methods design (Creswell, et al., 2003). The last
variation of the embedded design is the correlational model where the qualitative
data are embedded within a quantitative design to help explain the outcomes of the
correlation model. Within the embedded designs, the methods may be conducted
concurrently or sequentially.
The explanatory design previously described by Creswell, et al., (2003) as sequen-
tial explanatory design consists of two phases, beginning with the quantitative phase
and then the qualitative phase, which aims to explain or enhance the quantitative
results. Figure 2 outlines the two variants of the explanatory design—the follow-up
explanatory model and the participant selection model. Within the follow-up explan-
atory model, the researcher identifies specific quantitative findings, such as unex-
pected results, outliers or differences between groups that need further exploration
using qualitative methodology. In contrast, the qualitative phase has priority in the
participant selection model, and the purpose of the quantitative phase is to identify
and purposefully select participants. The explanatory design requires a longer imple-
mentation time due to the sequential nature but is regarded as the easiest of the four
methods to implement.
The exploratory design is a sequential design where the first phase, qualitative,
helps in the development of the quantitative phase. Creswell, et al. (2003) described
this design as sequential exploratory design. This design (see Figure 2) is used
for developing and testing instruments (Instrument Development Model) or for
181
182
183
Conclusion
Mixed methods research is now viewed as the third methodological movement and as
an approach that has much to offer health and social science researchs. The purpose
of mixing approaches is to afford opportunity to gain a more complete understanding
of research problems (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2007). Researchers anticipate that
mixing methods will enable them to capture the complexity of human phenomena
(Sandelowski, 2001). Mixed methods research responds to the interests and needs
of diverse stakeholders in research. This is clearly identified by Greene (2005: 209)
who suggests that ‘a mixed method approach offers greater possibilities than a single
method approach for responding to decision makers agenda, as well as to the inter-
ests of other legitimate stakeholders.’ In health care, the selection of mixed methods
as a methodology seeks to provide hard data for the decision makers who seek to
determine health care policy. Mixed method research responds to the pressures for
outcomes in healthcare, but it can also report on the context of those outcomes. Cres-
well and Plano Clark (2007) have identified that within the nursing discipline, mixed
methods research has been discussed and used extensively. Similarly, Twinn (2003:
553) suggests that “there is growing acceptance that the design provides an appropri-
ate methodology to address the complex health problems frequently faced by the
nursing discipline”. By building on the strengths, acknowledging and limiting the
weaknesses of mixed methods research, nurse researchers can address these ‘complex
health problems’ in a creative and imaginative way.
References
Appleton, JV, King, L (2002) Journeying from the Giddings, LS (2006) Mixed-methods research. Positivism
philosophical contemplation of constructivism to the dressed in drag. J Res Nurs 11: 195–203.
methodological pragmatics of health service research. J Greene, JC (2005) The generative potential of mixed
Adv Nurs 40: 641–648. methods inquiry. Int J Res Method Educ 28: 207–211.
Bryman, A (2006) Integrating quantitative and qualitative Greene, JC, Caracelli, VJ (1997) Defining and describing
research: how is it done. Qual Res 6: 97–113. the paradigm issue in mixed-method evaluation. New
Bryman, A (2007) Barriers to integrating quantitative and Dir Program Eval 3: 5–17.
qualitative research. J Mixed Methods Res 1: 8–22. Greene, JC, Caracelli, VJ, Graham, WF (1989) Toward a
Caracelli, VJ, Greene, JC (1997) Crafting mixed-method conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation
evaluation designs. New Dir Program Eval 1997: 19–32.
designs. Educ Eval Policy Anal 11: 255–274.
Creswell, JW (1994) Research Design: Qualitative and
Guba, E (1987) What have we learned about naturalistic
Quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage.
evaluation. Eval Pract 8: 23–43.
Creswell, JW, Plano Clark, VL (2007) Designing and
Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks, Guba, EG, Lincoln, YS (1988) Do inquiry paradigms imply
CA: Sage. inquiry methodologies? In: Fetterman, DM (ed),
Creswell, JW, Plano Clark, VL, Gutman, ML, Hanson, WE Qualitative Approaches to Evaluation in Education: The
(2003) Advanced mixed methods research designs. In: Silent Scientific Revolution. London: Prager. 89–115
Tashakkori, A, Teddlie, C (eds), Handbook of Mixed Hanson, WE, Creswell, J, Plano Clark, V, Creswell, D
Methods in Social & Behavioral Research. Thousand (2005) Mixed method design in counselling
Oaks, CA: Sage. 209–240 psychology. J Couns Psychol 52: 224–235.
Firestone, WA (1987) Meaning in method: the rhetoric of Howe, K (1985) Two dogmas of educational research. Educ
quantitative and qualitative research. Educ Res 16: 16–21. Res 14: 10–18.
184
Louise Doyle (RPN, BNS, RNT, MSc) is a lecturer in mental health nursing at the
School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, Trinity College Dublin. She is currently
undertaking a mixed methods PhD study of adolescent help-seeking for suicidal
behaviour.
Email: Louise.doyle@tcd.ie
Anne-Marie Brady (RGN, BSN, MSN, PG Dip Clinical Health Sciences Education,
RNT) is a lecturer and Research Fellow at the School of Nursing and Midwifery Stud-
ies, Trinity College Dublin. She is undertaking a PhD study exploring transition
experiences and intent to stay of degree graduate nurses, using a mixed methods
approach.
Email: Anne-marie.brady@tcd.ie
Gobnait Byrne (RGN, RNT, BNS, MPH, PG Dip Statistics) is a lecturer in general
nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, Trinity College Dublin. She
is currently undertaking a PhD study of migrant health in Ireland using mixed
methods.
Email: Gobnait.byrne@tcd.ie
185