Lessons from the field: Applying the Good Reporting of A Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) framework’

1. IntroductionThis paper applies the Good Reporting of A Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) framework developed by O'Cathain, Murphy and Nicholl (2008) to a field study which has been recently completed in regional Australia. The study was community based and guided by a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) made up of representatives from the community. The CAC members represented regional employers, government departments and, community groups and as such, enabled us to claim this as an exemplar of community engaged research. The study investigated the contributions made by migrants to regional communities by exploring the economic, social and cultural contributions of skilled migrants and their families to Australian society and in particular to the economic and social sustainability of Australia's regions. A key finding from the study was the fact there is no one national data collection mechanism which records the location and economic activities of skilled migrants once they enter an Australian port. This lack of data meant the research team and the CAC needed to employ innovative ways in which to build empirical data that would contribute to pieces of the larger picture and to thereby attempt to answer the research questions posited.The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary research team in conjunction with the CAC over a nine month period resulting in a report which was published for a community audience. The report was written specifically with this audience in mind and does not contain the level of methodological reporting required for academic publication. The report is being used by various community groups in the region as evidence of regional cultural diversity and how this diversity is contributing to regional sustainability, community cohesion and cultural inclusivity. The research team now wishes to publish the research and its findings in academic outlets.To this end more sophisticated analysis and data integration will need to be undertaken. The process of applying the GRAMMS guides the research team in a process of reflexivity to enable the team to plan this next stage of reporting for academic publication.A common criticism of mixed methods research (MMR) is the lack of explicit documentation and transparency of the reporting of mixed methods studies. The GRAMMS was developed for this very reason as a result of the study undertaken by O'Cathain, Murphy & Nicholl (2008) on health services research. In addition to the GRAMMS framework we have also applied Haneef's (2013) flow of empirical research products and content and Sandelowski and Barroso's (2003) typology of qualitative findings to assist us position the study. We also utilise the Extended MMR Notation System developed by Cameron (2012) and Newman et al's (2003) Typology of Research Purposes to aid us in this reflexive and transformative process.We present an overview of the study in terms of the study's research design, aims, objectives and research questions which is followed by a a discussion of Haneef's (2013) flow of empirical research products and content and Sandelowski and Barroso's (2003) typology of qualitative findings, to position the current state of the analysis of the study's findings within the research process and it's products. This will be followed by the application of the GRAMMS framework to the study as a process of reflexivity for preparing the study's data (qualitative, quantitative and integrated) for academic publication.2. The mixed methods study: Case study of skilled migrants in regional AustraliaThe study in its abbreviated form was titled A case study of skilled migrants in regional Australia and was conducted in the Gladstone local government area situated in central Queensland. The region is surrounded by resource rich basins which feed the Queensland resource sector with coal and coal seam gas/liquefied natural gas (CSG/LNG). Gladstone has a history of heavy industrial development, along with a large commodities harbour and port. …