Mixed Methods Design: A Beginner's Guide

The interest in mixed method design has grown over the years as questions related to health and healthcare have become more complex. Janice M. Morse and Linda Niehaus' book, Mixed Method Design: Principles and Procedures (2009), offers a clear explanation of mixed method design, and more importantly, offers a roadmap to successfully carrying out mixed method research. They first explain what areas of research are well suited to mixed method design and follow it with a number of terms that aid in the readers' understanding of this type of research. They delve into the types of mixed method design and the importance of recognizing the theoretical drive when planning the design. They consider pacing of the research designs (whether performed simultaneously or sequentially) and issues with sampling before they explore specific ways to conduct qualitatively and quantitatively focused mixed methods research. They end the book with complex mixed method designs and multiple methods designs. Throughout the book, they continue to emphasize what types of designs are not recognized as mixed methods. As a graduate student, I have introductory knowledge of research and research methods, so this book was very easy to read given my background; and I know that it will be a useful reference as I move forward into a career of research. I found that the most valuable aspects of this book were the authors' explanation of determining the theoretical drive of a mixed method design, the systematic explanation of "how to" conduct mixed method design, and the figures and references throughout the book that provide further explanation of concepts. In the first six chapters, Morse and Niehaus (2009) lay the groundwork by explaining mixed method design and defining terminology that simplifies discussion amongst researchers. They discuss how the researcher's theoretical drive determines what type of mixed method design to utilize (qualitative versus quantitative). They also differentiate core and supplemental components and explore how the supplemental component influences the results of the study by complementing, confirming, or enhancing the results of the core component. They differentiate the pacing utilized in mixed method research, simultaneously or sequentially, in exploration of various research aims. Finally, they discuss sampling issues related to using both qualitative and quantitative methods and how to rectify both. Following the groundwork laid out in the first six chapters, the authors provide straightforward guidelines for conducting mixed methods research. For me, this was the most important part of the book. The authors help the reader determine what types of research designs fit well together and provide wonderful examples of each. In chapter eight, they discuss various types of qualitative research and how each method of qualitative research could be the core component to a mixed method design. For example, when using grounded theory, they discuss how a quantitative supplementary component can enhance the results, enable comparison, reveal change, or confirm findings from the qualitative core component. In chapter nine, they discuss how a quantitative design can be the core component of a mixed method research design. They conclude the body of the book with complex mixed method designs and differentiate multiple methods research from mixed method design. In order to emphasize concepts throughout the book, Morse and Niehaus (2009) provide easy to understand figures. …