Applying Mixed Methods Research to Conduct Human Resource Development Inquiry: An Update

Abstract

Scholars of human resource development (HRD) and related fields should stay abreast of mixed methods research developments to advance their scholarship. In support this idea, two companion works published in Human Resource Development Review (Hitchcock & Newman, 2013; Newman & Hitchcock, 2011) were offered to help HRD scholars embrace the concept of mixed methods research. It is now approaching 10 years since the second of these two articles was published and, since then, there have been important mixed methods research updates that can facilitate HRD inquiry. This article therefore contributes to Human Resource Development Review’s Instructor’s Corner by reviewing: (a) updates in paradigmatic thinking that support the use of mixed methods, (b) new approaches to integration, and (c) legitimation approaches that offer a validity framework for understanding mixed methods design quality. These three descriptions include discussion around how they might be applied in HRD research.