Medical Teacher

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Mixed methods research designs

Alexis Battista & Dario Torre

To cite this article: Alexis Battista & Dario Torre (2023) Mixed methods research designs,
Medical Teacher, 45:6, 585-587, DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2023.2200118
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2023.2200118

Published online: 25 Apr 2023.

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MEDICAL TEACHER
2023, VOL. 45, NO. 6, 585–587
https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2023.2200118

CONCEPTS IN HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION

Mixed methods research designs

Alexis Battistaa and Dario Torreb
a
The Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Center for Health Professions Education, Uniformed
Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA; bDepartment of Medicine, University of Central Florida Medical School,
Orlando, FL, USA

The theme for the concept map was identified based on the
paper of Tseng et al. (2023) in this issue of Medical Teacher.
Mixed method research (MMR) as used by Tseng et al.
(2023) is frequently called a third research movement
(Teddlie and Tashakkori 2009) and is often described as an
intuitive approach that more naturally mirrors people’s
daily lives. Health professionals, for example, already have
some experience with mixing methods because they regu-
larly gather patient information through patient interviews,
physical exams, and diagnostic tests to make diagnoses
and treatment decisions. When first asked what MMR is,
some might describe mixed-methods as a study that
includes qualitative and quantitative data. However, this
limited perspective reduces MMR to types of data.
Cresswell and Plano Clark et al. (Cresswell and Plano Clark
2018a, 2018b) define MMR as including the collection and
analysis of data drawing from qualitative and quantitative
approaches, organizing these approaches using specific
designs, integrating findings, and framing these procedures
within theoretical and philosophical perspectives.
Determining when and when not to use mixed methods
requires careful and thoughtful deliberation about why mixing
might better serve the study’s overall purpose (Greene 2007).
Some common reasons include triangulation, a need for
more complete findings, a need to explain initial findings, or
a need to explore first and then examine the regularity of
those findings across a broader population (Cresswell and
Plano Clark 2018a, 2018b). Consider the following examples:
inquiry to examine different aspects of a phenomena to
identify findings that would otherwise not be accessible
through a monomethod approach.
 Investigators need to use one method of inquiry to
explain or expand upon the other. For example, quanti-
tative approaches may help identify relationships
between variables, while qualitative approaches are bet-
ter suited to uncovering greater details about the con-
texts or processes that underlie those relationships.
 When researching less well-known phenomena, investi-
gators may start with an exploratory approach to better
understand what questions are valuable. Then, they
might utilize those findings to expand the scope of the
research to determine the regularity across a larger
population.
When undertaking MMR, researchers must make deci-
sions about timing, priority, level of interaction, and inte-
gration. In the concept map Figure 1, we depict three
common types of mixed methods designs: convergent
(also known as triangulation), explanatory and exploratory.
For each of these study designs, we highlight the timing,
integration, and level of interaction of quantitative and
qualitative strands. Other MM designs, such as embedded
and longitudinal designs, are beyond this article’s scope.

 Triangulation, one of the most common reasons to

employ MMR, is selected when an investigator’s goal is
to use different inquiry approaches that offset biases to
corroborate findings and increase the validity of
inferences.
 Investigators may seek a deeper, richer, more complete
description or understanding of a phenomena. Here,
investigators intentionally use more than one form of
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are respon-
sible for the content and writing of the article. The views expressed in
this presentation do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position
of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the
Department of Defense, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, or the U.S.
Government.

CONTACT Alexis Battista alexis.battista.ctr@usuhs.edu Department of Medicine, The Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military
Medicine, Center for Health Professions Education, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
ß 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
586 A. BATTISTA AND D. TORRE

Funding
The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work
featured in this article.
Notes on contributors
Alexis Battista, PhD, FSSH, Associate Professor of Medicine, The Henry
M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine,
Center for Health Professions Education, Uniformed Services University
of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.
Dario Torre, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, University of
Central Florida Medical School, Orlando, FL.
ORCID
Alexis Battista http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8313-0481
References
Cresswell JW, Plano Clark VL. 2018a. Core mixed methods designs. In:
Designing and conducting mixed methods research. 3rd ed.
Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications, Inc.; p. 51–99.
Cresswell JW, Plano Clark VL. 2018b. The nature of mixed methods
research. In: Designing and conducting mixed methods research.
3rd ed. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications, Inc.; p. 1–19.
Greene JC. 2007. Mixing methods on purpose. In: Mixed methods in
social inquiry. San Francisco (CA): John Wiley & Sons; p. 95–111.
Teddlie C, Tashakkori A. 2009. Mixed Methods as the third
research community. In Foundations of mixed methods
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the social and behavioral sciences. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage
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Tseng AS, Edwards C, Rawls M, McGinn M, Wieghard N, Santen
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Figure 1. The theme for the concept map was identified based on the paper of Tseng et al. (2023) in this issue of Medical Teacher.
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