Mixed Methods Research
Daphne Watkins and Deborah Gioia
Abstract
Mixed methods research is more than just combining qualitative and quantitative data. Mixed methods involves integrating the assumptions that we have about methodologies, methods, research questions, and data to draw interpretations based on the combined strengths of qualitative and quantitative approaches so that we can influence social work research, practice, and policy. This text reviews the fundamentals of mixed methods research designs, critically examines mixed method studies and models that have already been employed in social work, and considers the application of mixed methods resear ... More
Mixed methods research is more than just combining qualitative and quantitative data. Mixed methods involves integrating the assumptions that we have about methodologies, methods, research questions, and data to draw interpretations based on the combined strengths of qualitative and quantitative approaches so that we can influence social work research, practice, and policy. This text reviews the fundamentals of mixed methods research designs, critically examines mixed method studies and models that have already been employed in social work, and considers the application of mixed methods research in social work settings. This text is a practical tool for conducting mixed methods research in social work settings. As such, it uses a metaphoric staircase to illustrate nine steps for conducting a mixed methods study from start to finish. The text begins with a definition of mixed methods research more broadly and how it has been shaped into a useful application of evidence-based research in social work. Conducting a mixed methods study using a social work “lens,” as well as the perils and pitfalls associated with mixed methods research, are discussed. Recommendations for how to write up, present, and teach mixed methods research are also presented.
Keywords:
mixed methods,
evidence-based,
social work research,
social work practice,
research application
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2015 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199747450 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2015 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747450.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Daphne Watkins, author
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI
Deborah Gioia, author
Associate Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
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