studies, and mixed research. In business, “multimethod” and “mixed
method” research are the most commonly used labels. In the Handbook
of Mixed Methods research, distinctions are made between these two
terms (Morse, 2003). That is, multimethod research involves multiple
types of qualitative inquiry (e.g. interviews and observations) or multiple
types of quantitative inquiry (e.g. surveys and experiments) and
(2) mixed methods which involve the mixing of the two types of data.
Mixed methods research has become the most popular term for
mixing qualitative and quantitative data in a single study (Johnson,
Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2007) and the definition below, based on an
analysis of definitions used by leaders in the field of mixed methods
research, is used henceforth.
Mixedmethods research is the type of research inwhich a researcher
or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative
research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative
viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the
broad purpose of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration
(Johnson et al., 2007, pp. 123).
To be clear, this study specifically investigates the use of both qualitative
and quantitative components in a single study or project, (i.e.mixed
methods) and not multiplemethods that can include two different quantitative
component types or two different qualitative component types.
In addition to definitional issues, scholars expressed concern in the
1980s about the mixing of quantitative and qualitative datawithout articulating
defensible reasons for doing so (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham,
1989), resulting in the development of a number of rationales for combining
data collection methods and research questions particular to different
mixed method research designs. Bryman (2006) identifies 16