Guidelines for Conducting and Reporting Mixed Research in the Field of Counseling and beyond.

To identify a mixed method study (hereinafter referred to as either a mixed research study or mixed research), Tashakkori and Creswell (2007) documented seven indicators, stating that a study can be considered as representing mixed research if one or more of the elements are present. Although these guidelines are useful for helping the researcher identify whether the study represents mixed research, they do not provide any information as to how to report mixed research studies. Unfortunately, although the Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003) contained 26 groundbreaking chapters, it did not contain any guidelines for reporting mixed research studies. Even the latest American Educational Research Association (AERA; 2006) standards for reporting on empirical social science research in AERA publications dichotomized research into qualitative and quantitative research, with no recognition that research could involve the combination of both approaches (cf. Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). A few authors of mixed research textbooks (e.g., Creswell & Plano Clark, 2006) have provided some guidelines for reporting the results of mixed research studies; however, these guidelines have tended to be somewhat brief in nature and to lack a comprehensive framework for reporting mixed research studies. What the field of counseling needs are guidelines for reporting mixed research, as well as standards for evaluating such research. As such, we believe that our guidelines complement those provided by Choudhuri, Glauser, and Peregoy (2004) for writing qualitative manuscripts for the Journal of Counseling & Development (JCD), as well as those provided by AERA (2006). As noted by AERA (2006), reports of empirical studies should be both warranted and transparent. Warranted implies that sufficient evidence is documented to justify the findings and inferences made. Transparent implies that information regarding the process of the study needs to be included. Our guidelines, then, are an attempt to help counseling researchers write mixed research reports that are both warranted and transparent. Our reporting standards are based on the framework of Collins, Onwuegbuzie, and Sutton (2006). These methodologists have conceptualized mixed research as involving the following 13 distinct steps: (a) determining the mixed goal of the study, (b) formulating the mixed research objective(s), (c) determining the rationale of the study and the rationale(s) for mixing quantitative and qualitative approaches, (d) determining the purpose of the study and the purpose(s) for mixing quantitative and qualitative approaches, (e) determining the mixed research question(s), (f) selecting the mixed sampling design, (g) selecting the mixed research design, (h) collecting quantitative and/or qualitative data, (i) analyzing the quantitative and/or qualitative data using quantitative and/or qualitative analysis techniques, (j) validating/legitimating the mixed research findings, (k) interpreting the mixed research findings, (1) writing the mixed research report, and (m) reformulating the mixed research question(s). These 13 steps compose the following three major stages: research formulation stage (i.e., goal of the study, research objective, rationale for mixing, purpose of mixing, research question[s]), research planning stage (i.e., sampling design, research design), and research implementation stage (i.e., data collection, data analysis, data validation/ legitimation, data interpretation, report writing, reformulation of the research question[s]). Thus, our reporting standards are divided into three general areas--research formulation, research planning, and research implementation--which can be subdivided into 13 subareas. Research Formulation Stage Review of the Related Literature The research formulation stage involves the first five steps of the mixed research process. …