Choosing a method: What is your question?

This chapter discusses the origins of and paradigm associated with mixed methods research. It reviews the steps necessary for conducting mixed methods research and concludes with a discussion of challenges in conducting mixed methods research and issues that remain within the mixed methods community. In the explanatory sequential mixed methods design, priority or emphasis is placed on the quantitative (QUAN) data collection and analysis. The social justice mixed methods design includes a theoretical framework that scaffolds the mixed methods design. In the convergent mixed methods study, researchers conduct the qualitative (QUAL) or quantitative (QUAN) strands at the same time. The chapter then discusses the various definitions provided and numerous typologies that illustrate the inconsistencies in mixed methods. It also provides an introduction to what has become known as the third research methodology. Finally, the chapter discusses the challenges in conducting mixed methods research and issues that remain to be addressed by the mixed methods research community.