Mixed Method Design: Principles and Procedures(Developing Qualitative Inquiry)

The use of mixed methods designs for conducting research has become a major trend in social science research. Renowned methodological experts Janice Morse and Linda Niehaus present a guide to intermediate and experienced researchers on the possibilities inherent in mixed method research. They offer the basic principles of conducting this kind of study, then examine a wide variety of design options available to the researcher, including their strengths and weaknesses and when to use them. Providing examples from a variety of disciplines, examining potential threats to validity, and showing the relationship between method and theory, the book will be a valuable addition to the methodologist’s library and a useful text in courses in research design.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Mixed Method Design: Who Needs It?; Chapter 2 The Nuts and Bolts of Mixed Method Design; Chapter 3 Theoretical Drive; Chapter 4 Pacing the Components; Chapter 5 The Point of Interface; Chapter 6 Sampling for Mixed Method Designs; Chapter 7 Planning a Mixed Method Project; Chapter 8 Qualitatively-Driven Mixed Method Designs; Chapter 9 Quantitatively-Driven Mixed Method Designs; Chapter 10 Complex Mixed and Multiple Method Designs;

About the Author :
Janice Morse holds the Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair in the College of Nursing at University of Utah. Trained as an anthropologist, she founded and is former director of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology at University of Alberta, where she taught for many years. She is author or editor of numerous volumes on qualitative research in health care and nursing and has been conducting mixed method research since the 1970s. Morse founded and edits the journal Qualitative Health Research. Her most recent book is Developing Grounded Theory (2008) Linda Niehaus is a research associate at the University of Alberta. She has conducted health care research using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Review :
"As a health care professional, I see the value in mixed method design, and this book fulfills a void in the literature. Many researchers have a focus in one area or another, either in quantitative or qualitative methods. Although they might want to conduct mixed methods research, they might not know how to begin. This book outlines how to combine qualitative and quantitative components so well that I think it will take away any anxious feeling related to going outside one's comfort zone in research. I recommend this book to anyone who researches in healthcare in order to understand how to utilize mixed method designs for a better understanding of health-related issues." -Karen M Keptner, The Weekly Qualitative Report "With their new book, Morse and Niehaus make a significant contribution to the field in underscoring the significance of designing mixed method studies out of theoretical logic and principles for maintaining validity. At the same time, the book is practical and pedagogical and I would highly recommend it as reading material for students at master and doctoral levels." - Joakim Öhlén, Forum: Qualitative Social Research "Jan Morse and Linda Niehaus have written a fresh approach that will be immediately useful. They construct an original design approach based on core and supplemental methods that provide theoretical drive in a mixed methods study. They introduce new and useful concepts, such as point of interface and types of data sources that work best with certain designs, and they advance new notation (shorthand) that enables mixed methods investigators to best convey their designs. Most importantly, they take mixed methods where it should be going away from the more general discussions of types of designs into the actual procedures of conducting a mixed methods study. To illustrate these procedures they draw on their prolific output of published mixed methods studies. My students will immediately turn to their ideas for choosing and designing their next mixed methods study. In my first workshop on mixed methods after reading this helpful book I began to cite and use their work. Thanks for bringing such a clear, helpful guide to the field of mixed methods design! " --John Creswell, University of Nebraska, Lincoln "The clear and consistent organization of this book is one of its major strengths. In particular, I found its detailed coverage of specific research designs (including visual flowcharts) to be especially helpful for understanding this complex, but increasingly important field." --David Morgan, Portland State University "This book is chock full of lessons about integrating qualitative and quantitative data in social research and about the importance of proper design in a mixed methods project. It also makes clear the importance of keeping things as simple as possible and the costs of making projects more complicated than they need to be." --H Russell Bernard, University of Florida