In the prior section, integration of research findings was described as fundamental to
the execution of mixed methods. Bryman (2007) contends that the lack of integration in
mixed methodology studies is not so much a consequence of a clash in epistemological and
ontological positions but rather is due to the practical difficulty of tying the two
methodologies together. This practical difficulty is partly because of concerns about
establishing the validity of mixed methods research. Together, these validation
frameworks should facilitate the integration of qualitative and quantitative methodologies
and theories in ways that bypass epistemological and ontological positions.
For the remainder of this paper, we take a pragmatic view in which we treat mixed
methods as potentially but not necessarily including mixed methodology studies. In the
next section, we examine a range of rationales for mixing methods and/or
methodologies.