Graduate Students’ Current Practices for Writing a Mixed Methods Research Study Abstract: An Examination of Doctoral Dissertation and Master’s Thesis Abstracts in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses GlobalTM Database

Abstract

As an emergent research approach, mixed methods research (MMR) is receiving increasing attention in graduate student preparation. Despite growing trends in the prevalence of mixed methods research across disciplines and the extensive methodological literature about this approach, little is known about the actual MMR practices of graduate students, such as writing an abstract. To address this gap, this methodological review used qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine 869 abstracts of doctoral dissertations and master’s theses that were labeled as MMR and published between 2013 and 2018 in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global database. The results of this study indicated that a great number of institutions and disciplines have supported the use of MMR in doctoral dissertations and master’s theses. In addition, we found that the prevalence of MMR elements in the abstracts of culminating projects was highly varied. MMR element prevalence analysis revealed relatively common (e.g., qualitative methods, quantitative methods, mixed methods design) and relatively uncommon (e.g., sequence/timing of qualitative and quantitative strands, mixed methods rationale, priority, integration techniques, added value of using MMR) reporting practices. Implications for faculty involved in graduate education and mixed methods researchers are discussed.