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Greene, Caracelli, and Graham (1989) suggest that five major objectives or motivations exist for conducting MMR. The first one is ‘triangulation’, which provides validation and concurrence of results gained from various methods and designs investigating the same circumstance. ‘Complementarity’, as the second motivation, seeks for further detailing, improvement, interpretation and description of the results obtained from one method with results from the other method. The third one is ‘initiation’, which means unearthing the bias, and discrepancies that cause re-designing of the research question. ‘Development’, the fourth motivation, includes utilizing the findings from one method to deliver clues to other method. The last motivation, ‘expansion’, seeks to expand the size of research with different methods for different investigation factors.

Some of the advantages using the MMR are listed below (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004, p. 21; Johnson and Christensen, 2004, p. 646):
-Researchers can use numbers to add precision to words, pictures and narrative.

-A grounded theory can be created and tested by researcher by means of it.
-A researcher can also use MMR to increase the generalizability of the results.

According to Johnson and Christensen, (2004, p. 647) the weaknesses of
the MMR are as follows:

-It is more time-consuming.

The first type of research objective, exploration, comprises inductive methods to figure out an opinion, argument and the like. In this way, it brings about intuition, hypotheses, deductions or generalization.

Significance enhancement refers to interpretation and utility of findings.

The researchers can follow the steps in a linear way. Firstly, the goal of the study is determined, and then this leads to objectives, purpose, research questions and design linearly. In the last step, the sampling design is selected.

Parallel sampling: Sample for the quantitative and qualitative components of the study are different but are drawn from the same population of interest.

Convergent design: conducting qualitative and quantitative research concurrently, giving equal status to qualitative and quantitative strands, analysing the qualitative and quantitative data separately, making general comment by combining the results.

Exploratory design: conducting qualitative and quantitative research sequentially, begging the study with qualitative data collection and analyses, conducting the quantitative phase based on the qualitative phase by testing
or generalizing the qualitative results, explain how the quantitative data are built on qualitative results.

-Questionnaires can be seen in three categories. The first is the closed ended or structured ones, the second is open ended or unstructured ones, and the last is a mixture of closed ended and openended questionnaires. 

-Actually it can be said that closed ended questionnaires give the researcher
quantitative or numerical data and open-ended ones give qualitative or text information.

-To exemplify, when a participant of study is distant, the researcher may send the questionnaire by post. But the return rate of them become quite low.
Moreover, they can be delivered online. In this process, the rate of return may be slightly higher as it is easier for respondents to reply.

Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie (2003) present a seven-stage conception of the mixed methods data analysis process within the MMR model. These stages are respectively data reduction, data display, data transformation, data correlation,
data consolidation, data comparison, and data integration.

Conversion: The extent to which the quantitizing or qualitizing yields quality meta-inferences

Mixed methods research or MMR can be defined as “research designs using qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques in either parallel or sequential phases.” MMR can be stated as “a process of research when researchers integrate quantitative methods of data collection and analysis and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis to understand a research problem.” It corresponds to the “class of research where the researcher mixes or combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts or language into a single study.” As it can be seen from these definitions, the most important element of mixed methods research is using both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Greene, Caracelli, and Graham (1989) suggest that five major objectives or motivations exist for conducting MMR. The first one is ‘triangulation’, which provides validation and concurrence of results gained from various methods and designs investigating the same circumstance. ‘Complementarity’, as the second motivation, seeks for further detailing, improvement, interpretation and description of the results obtained from one method with results from the other method. The third one is ‘initiation’, which means unearthing the bias, and discrepancies that cause re-designing of the research question. ‘Development’, the fourth motivation, includes utilizing the findings from one method to deliver clues to other method. The last motivation, ‘expansion’, seeks to expand the size of research with different methods for different investigation factors.

MMR can be defined as the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for a clear understanding of research objectives than either approach alone. It is because MMR balances the weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research and transforms them into strength. By using all types of data collection tools, researchers can get more comprehensive evidence for a research problem. In respect of limitations, a single researcher may have some difficulties on conducting both qualitative and quantitative research when s/ he intends to use two or more ways all at once. Thus, a research team may be needed to get the best results. Furthermore, learning about multiple methods and approaches and understanding how to mix them aptly should be regarded as a must. Conducting MMR can also be more expensive, time consuming and may require formulating how to mix paradigm, analyzing quantitative data or interpreting the paradoxical results by research methodologist.

The research goal directs forthrightly to the research objective. In this step, the researcher should determine which of the following five major standard research objectives are pertinent for the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study: a) exploration, b) description, c) explanation, d) prediction, and/or e) influence.

After deciding that MMR is suitable for the study, the researchers determine their rationale for using a mixed design. Different rationales and their explanation can be found in the table below:

Rationale for Conducting Mixed Methods Research

Explanation

Participant enrichment

involves blending quantitative and qualitative research to better the sample using approaches that encompass recruiting participants, dealing with activities such as institutional review board interviews assuring that each participant chosen is eligible for involvement

Instrument fidelity

pertains to evaluating the convenience and/or effectuality of current instruments, by generating new instruments and observing performance of human instruments.

Treatment integrity

presents evaluating the level of compliance of intervention.

Significance enhancement

refers to interpretation and utility of findings

Triangulation

seeks convergence, correspondence, and corroboration of results from different methods studying the same phenomenon

Complementarity

seeks elaboration, enhancement, illustration, and clarification of the results from one method with results from the other method

Development

seeks to use the results from one method to help inform the other method.

Initiation

refers to discovering paradoxes and contradictions as well as providing different perspectives that may lead to a reframing of the research question or results.

Expansion

seeks to expand the breadth and range of inquiry by using different methods for different inquiry components.

MMR sampling process consists of seven steps: determine the goal of the study, formulate the research question, determine the research purpose, determine the research question, select the research design, select the sampling design, and select the individual sampling schemes.

There are six types of mixed methods research design. Their characteristics can be found in the following table:

Types of Mixed Methods Research Design

Explanation

1. Convergent design

• conducting qualitative and quantitative research concurrently

•giving equal status to qualitative and quantitative strands

•analysing the qualitative and quantitative data separately

•making general comment by combining the results

2. Explanatory design

• conducting qualitative and quantitative research sequentially

•begging the study with quantitative data collection and analyses

•building the second phase of the study on the results of first phase

•commenting on how the qualitative phase helps to explain the quantitative
phase of the study

3. Exploratory design

• conducting qualitative and quantitative research sequentially

•begging the study with qualitative data collection and analyses

•conducting the quantitative phase based on the qualitative phase by testing
or generalizing the qualitative results

•explain how the quantitative data are built on qualitative results.

4. Embedded design

• consisting of major and supporting research

•conducting qualitative and quantitative research either sequentially or
concurrently

•a qualitative research can be conducted before, during or after the major
quantitative research or vice versa.

•using the supporting phase in order to develop the major research in some
way

5. Transformative design

• shaping interaction, dominance, timing and combination of qualitative and quantitative research based on theoretical framework

•theoretical framework guides the methods decisions

6. Multiphase design

• conducting research by combining sequential and/or concurrent qualitative and quantitative research

•using this design in order to develop, adapt and evaluate programmes

Closed ended, open- ended questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations are among the basic instruments that are used in the MMR. Conducting various ways of collecting data can support each other and thus strengthens the validity and dependability of the data. Researchers primarily enhance the items of questionnaires regarding the goals and questions of the research. It is a fact that surveys are one of the primary sources of gathering data in any research; on the other hand, it should be assured by the researcher that it is ‘valid, reliable and unambiguous’.

While writing the MMR report, the researchers can come across possible four problems. These problems can be explained as follows:

1. The researchers may not be able to balance between quantitative and qualitative paradigm;

2. The researchers may not be able to forecast the readers’ quantitative, qualitative and MMR knowledge;
3. The researchers may not be able to summarize big quantitative and qualitative data set in accordance with journal format; and

4. MMR studies may be rejected by the editors or referees, who adopt only one research paradigm.

Presenting the findings in an integrated manner is not a problem but a choice that the writer has to make. The process of writing the MMR report has similar stages to mono method research reports where you ground your study on a single research paradigm ( either entirely quantitative or entirely qualitative). The researchers firstly give the problem, purpose, importance, and method of the study. However, when it comes to writing findings, the researchers have two choices: presenting the two sets of findings and interpretations in separate sections or by fully integrating them in the same section. Then they end up the report by adding conclusion, discussion and suggestions.

Conducting a MMR can be a complex and very extensive process especially for novice researchers. For this reason, the researchers may need to check whether their MMR steps are parallel with the MMR content, philosophy, design, sampling, etc. In order to figure out if their study fits the MMR, the researchers can follow the checklist below:

Your Review

(Put cross or tick)

The steps you must follow while reviewing your mixed methods study

1. Evaluate your topic of the study (Is it suitable for mixed methods research?)

2. Check the philosophy and theoretical foundations of mixed methods research (Do you build up your research into this philosophy?)

3. Describe the goal/purpose/research questions of your study (Are your goal/purpose/ research questions of your study suitable for a mixed methods research?)

4. Choose your research design and organize the strands of your study

5. Be sure that you explain a sample, collecting quantitative/qualitative data, analyzing the data in your each strand in a detailed way

6. Give your rationale for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data

7. Determine timing (Is it sequential/concurrent or multiphase?)

8. Determine the type of interaction (How do you mix the strands of your study? Merged, connected, embedded, within a theoretical framework or within a program objective framework?)

9. Determine the priority (Is quantitative or qualitative dominant or equal?)

10. Explain the overall mixed methods design by citing references

11. Display each strand of your study in a detailed diagram by drawing flow of activities that occurred during your research.

12. If something goes wrong in any stage of your research, turn back to previous stage and check it, find the error, correct it and go ahead...