Abstract
We invite the mixed methods community of researchers and scholars to join us at a pivotal moment in the history of mixed methods research inquiry. We can continue down the well-worn path of relying solely on quantitatively driven mixed methods inquiry rooted in positivist and post-positivist methodologies emphasizing hypothesis testing, causality, observation, and measurement. Over time, however, this dominant mixed methods research design path has limited our angle of vision onto the social reality to only those issues we can understand through observation and precise measurement.
This dominance has also led to pursuing a “methods-centric” praxis that often leads to the sole use of quantitatively driven “pre-determined” mixed methods research designs. However, in continuing to do so, we have historically ignored the importance of qualitatively driven approaches to mixed methods inquiry that offer a unique lens through which we can explore lived experiences, by revealing subjugated knowledge that quantitatively driven mixed methods inquiry fails to capture. A qualitatively driven perspective provides a more complex understanding of complex societal challenges, such as inequality, marginalization, and health disparities, whose very focus is on the role of lived experience, which is a critical component in our understanding of multi-faceted social problems that a qualitatively driven mixed methods inquiry can give us.
This special issue encourages collaboration across disciplinary and transdisciplinary divides to demonstrate how qualitatively driven perspectives can strengthen mixed methods inquiry. We are particularly interested in qualitatively driven design innovations that embrace methodological pluralism. We invite submissions of original articles, reviews, case studies, and methodological explorations that push the boundaries of what qualitatively driven mixed methods research can achieve.
Objectives and Potential Topics of the Special Issue
The main objectives of this special issue are as follows: 1. Exploring qualitatively driven methodological/theoretical/research design innovations. 2. Leveraging and integrating new digital technologies like artificial intelligence to enhance qualitatively driven inquiry. 3. Addressing the concerns of marginalized populations in a global and cultural context.
We seek contributions that: • Enhance exploratory potential. • Integrate diverse cultural perspectives. • Showcase design innovation across the research process. • Integrate multiple qualitative methods together with quantitative approaches. • Incorporate new theoretical perspectives. • Incorporate perspectives that challenge Western-centric knowledge. • Leverage digital technologies for richer insights. • Develop ethical guidelines for using digital technologies. • Explore global and cultural perspectives. • Apply qualitatively driven mixed methods approaches to tackle specific societal challenges.
This special issue is part of a larger vision for advancing qualitatively driven mixed methods inquiry by revealing the depth of its exploratory praxis. We also hope this special issue will promote a change in mixed methods praxis, one that advocates for methodological and theoretical pluralism that, in turn, will encourage researchers to be open to reaching out across the qualitative and quantitative divide.
Submission and Timeline
Manuscripts should be original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Submissions should be made through the JMMR online submission system, taking into account the submission guidelines to authors (Submission Guidelines: Journal of Mixed Methods Research: Sage Journals).
Please indicate in your cover letter that the article is being submitted for the special issue “Advancing Qualitatively Driven Mixed Methods Research.”
Please contact the guest editor of this special issue (Sharlene Hesse-Biber,
Timeline and important dates: • Submission deadline: June 15, 2025 • Initial review completed: September 15, 2025 • Revisions due: December 15, 2025 • Other reviews rounds, revisions, and final decisions: July, 2026 • Tentative publication date: October 2026 issue of JMMR.