Abstract
BackgroundMixed methods designs are increasingly used in health care research to enrich findings. However, little is known about the frequency of use of this methodology in chiropractic research, or the quality of reporting among chiropractic studies using mixed methods.ObjectiveTo quantify the use and quality of mixed methods in chiropractic research, and explore the association of study characteristics (e.g., authorship, expertise, journal impact factor, country and year of publication) with reporting quality.MethodsWe will conduct a systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Index to Chiropractic Literature to identify all chiropractic mixed methods studies published from inception of each database to December 31, 2020. Articles reporting the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, or mixed qualitative methods, will be included. Pairs of reviewers will perform article screening, data extraction, risk of bias with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and appraisal of reporting quality using the Good Reporting of A Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) guideline. We will explore the correlation between GRAMMS and MMAT scores, and construct generalized estimating equations to explore factors associated with reporting quality.DiscussionThis will be the first methodological review to examine the reporting quality of published mixed methods studies involving chiropractic research. The results of our review will inform opportunities to improve reporting in chiropractic mixed methods studies. Our results will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed publication and presented publicly at conferences and as part of a doctoral thesis.
Highlights
Mixed methods designs are increasingly used in health care research to enrich findings
Information sources A systematic search of multiple databases including Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), CINAHL, and the Index to Chiropractic Literature (ICL) will be conducted to identify all published chiropractic mixed methods articles, without time limits to December 31, 2020
The reference lists of eligible articles will be handsearched, and contact will be made with experts in the chiropractic mixed methods field, to identify additional eligible studies not identified in our electronic database searches
Summary
Registration This methodological review was registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF) on December 14, 2020 (https://osf.io/). The following six items from the Good Reporting of A Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) criteria [9] will be used to assess reporting quality: (1) describes the justification for using a mixed methods approach to the research question; (2) describes the mixed methods design (i.e., the purpose, priority, and sequence of methods); (3) describes each method in terms of its sampling, data collection, and analysis; (4) describes the integration of the quantitative and qualitative components (i.e., where integration has occurred, how it has occurred, and who among the research team has participated in it); (5) describes any limitation of one method associated with the presence of the other method; and (6) describes any insights gained from mixing or integrating methods. Describes any limitation of one method associated with the presence of the other method
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