In this paper, we set the scene for this special issue by synthesising the vast array of
literature to examine what constitutes mixed methods research, and the associated
strengths and risks attributed to this approach. We illustrate the application of mixed
methods with three published management accounting studies (Davila and Foster, 2007;
Modell and Lee, 2001; Wouters and Wilderom, 2008) and one financial accounting study
(Graham et al., 2005). We examine these published studies for what they tell us about the
strengths of mixed method designs as well as the tensions and trade-offs in execution.
Similar themes of relative strengths, tensions and trade-offs are evident in the other
papers in this special issue that reflect on applications of mixed methods design (see the
papers by Malina, Nørreklit and Selto, Murphy and Maguire, and De Silva).