Revisiting the difference between mixed methods and multimethods: Is it all in the name?

  • Published: 09 February 2018
  • Volume 52 , pages 2757–2770, ( 2018 )

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case study vs mixed methods research

  • M. Teresa Anguera   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7147-2927 1 ,
  • Angel Blanco-Villaseñor 1 ,
  • José Luis Losada 1 ,
  • Pedro Sánchez-Algarra 1 &
  • Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie 2 , 3  

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The literature on mixed methods and multimethods has burgeoned over the last 20 years, and researchers from a growing number and diversity of fields have progressively embraced these approaches. However, rapid growth in any movement inevitably gives rise to gaps or shortcomings, such as “identity crises” or divergent conceptual views. Although some authors draw a clear and sometimes opinionated distinction between mixed methods and multimethods , for others, they are synonymous. The concepts underlying both terms therefore have become blurred and generated much confusion. The aim of this article is to explore the origins of the confusion, describe our view of mixed methods and multimethod studies, and by doing so, help to clearly delineate the two concepts. The authors have presented their opinion of how these terms and concepts should be distinguished and call for a constructive debate of the issues involved in the mixed methods and multimethod literature. This is a way truly to propel the field forward.

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case study vs mixed methods research

Mixed methods research: what it is and what it could be

case study vs mixed methods research

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case study vs mixed methods research

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M. Teresa Anguera, Angel Blanco-Villaseñor, José Luis Losada & Pedro Sánchez-Algarra

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Anguera, M.T., Blanco-Villaseñor, A., Losada, J.L. et al. Revisiting the difference between mixed methods and multimethods: Is it all in the name?. Qual Quant 52 , 2757–2770 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0700-2

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    The purpose of case study research is twofold: (1) to provide descriptive information and (2) to suggest theoretical relevance. Rich description enables an in-depth or sharpened understanding of the case. It is unique given one characteristic: case studies draw from more than one data source. Case studies are inherently multimodal or mixed ...

  18. The Growing Importance of Mixed-Methods Research in Health

    The relevance of mixed-methods in health research. The overall goal of the mixed-methods research design is to provide a better and deeper understanding, by providing a fuller picture that can enhance description and understanding of the phenomena [].Mixed-methods research has become popular because it uses quantitative and qualitative data in one single study which provides stronger inference ...

  19. Revisiting the difference between mixed methods and ...

    Mixed methods research has blossomed over the last 20 years (Creswell 2015), although studies combining qualitative and quantitative data are nothing new in fields such as the social, educational, behavioral, health, and sports sciences.. The mixed methods research movement emerged as a third research paradigm (Johnson et al. 2007) offering an alternative to purely qualitative or quantitative ...

  20. Qualitative Approaches to Mixed Methods Practice

    mixed methods, qualitative approaches, case studies. qualitative approach to research aims to understand how individuals make meaning of their social world. The social world is not something independent of individual percep-tions but is created through social interactions of individuals with the world around them.

  21. A mixed method approach to quality of life research: A case study approach

    The research objectives of this paper are to (1) operationalize the two goals of mixed method research (confirmation and comprehension) and (2) develop a strategy for using mixed methods in quality of life research. Face-to-face interview (qualitative) and telephone survey (quantitative) data from the Community-University Institute for Social ...

  22. Combining qualitative and quantitative research within mixed method

    Mixed Methods Research for Nursing and the Health Sciences. Wiley-Blackwell; Chichester: 2009. pp. 135-158. [Google Scholar] O'Cathain A., Murphy E., Nicholl J. Why, and how, mixed methods research is undertaken in health services research in England: a mixed methods study. BMC Health Services Research. 2007; 7:85.

  23. Full article: Mixed-methods impact evaluation in international

    Introduction. Mixed-methods impact evaluation (MMIE) is a route to identifying planned and unplanned outcomes of interventions, causal mechanisms underlying these effects, and the conditions under which these arise to assist both organisational learning and political accountability (Bamberger, Rao, and Woolcock Citation 2010).The general case for combining quantitative and qualitative methods ...

  24. Mixed Methods Single Case Research: State of the Art and Future

    Mixed methods single case research (MMSCR) is research in which single case experimental and qualitative case study methodologies, and their accompanying sets of methods and techniques, are integrated to answer research questions that concern a single case.

  25. Variations of mixed methods reviews approaches: A case study

    This case study analyzed 30 mixed methods reviews and focused on how and why to perform integration. Four integration strategies and 12 reasons for conducting mixed methods reviews were identified. ... Beyond the divide and technical aspect of mixed methods research (qualitative vs quantitative methods), Greene 88 suggested focusing attention ...