Abstract
BackgroundHealth researchers undertake studies which combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Little attention has been paid to the structural issues affecting this mixed methods approach. We explored the facilitators and barriers to undertaking mixed methods studies in health research.MethodsFace-to-face semi-structured interviews with 20 researchers experienced in mixed methods research in health in the United Kingdom.ResultsStructural facilitators for undertaking mixed methods studies included a perception that funding bodies promoted this approach, and the multidisciplinary constituency of some university departments. Structural barriers to exploiting the potential of these studies included a lack of education and training in mixed methods research, and a lack of templates for reporting mixed methods articles in peer-reviewed journals. The 'hierarchy of evidence' relating to effectiveness studies in health care research, with the randomised controlled trial as the gold standard, appeared to pervade the health research infrastructure. Thus integration of data and findings from qualitative and quantitative components of mixed methods studies, and dissemination of integrated outputs, tended to occur through serendipity and effort, further highlighting the presence of structural constraints. Researchers are agents who may also support current structures - journal reviewers and editors, and directors of postgraduate training courses - and thus have the ability to improve the structural support for exploiting the potential of mixed methods research.ConclusionThe environment for health research in the UK appears to be conducive to mixed methods research but not to exploiting the potential of this approach. Structural change, as well as change in researcher behaviour, will be necessary if researchers are to fully exploit the potential of using mixed methods research.
Highlights
Health researchers undertake studies which combine qualitative and quantitative methods
We undertook a qualitative interview study of researchers who had worked on mixed methods projects. This was a component of a wider mixed methods study of how qualitative and quantitative methods are combined within health care research
The proposals, reports and publications from these studies were obtained, and information was extracted on the quality of each study, the design types used, and the extent to which the study was assessed as exploiting the potential of mixed methods research[13]. This latter aspect was based on a subjective assessment of the extent to which researchers had used integration approaches identified in the mixed methods literature and relevant to that study, and an assessment of the attention paid to integration of data and findings from the qualitative and quantitative components within the set of publications emerging from that study[13]
Summary
Health researchers undertake studies which combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Where methods have been combined with a justification of offering a more comprehensive picture, studies have been criticised for failing to integrate the data and findings from the qualitative and quantitative components to create a 'whole more than the sum of the parts' [11]. This is noticeable at the publication stage of a study where it has been noted that it can be difficult to appreciate the interaction between parts of mixed methods studies because different components are published separately [12]. Mixed methods studies in health can become less than the sum of their parts, with some components never published in journals, or different components published separately with little or no reference to each other so that any sense of their being mixed methods studies, and the possible benefits of this, are lost [13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
