Using mixed and multi-modal methods in psychological research with young people

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the use of mixed and ‘multi-modal’ methods of data collection in psychological research with young people. Drawing in particular on our experiences of conducting two studies that incorporated a variety of different quantitative and qualitative research methods (Gray and Manning, 2014; Manning and Gray, forthcoming), we highlight the contribution that we believe multiple methods can offer researchers interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing while also considering some of the key challenges we have found in using such methods. We argue that multiple modes of data collection can help us to work with participants in different ways, in different places and at different times to understand their perspectives and practices (Chamberlain et al., 2011), thereby providing access to complex experiences that may otherwise have been difficult to access. Moreover, we argue that such methods can critically disrupt taken-for-granted narratives about a topic, at times making the familiar surprising, and leading to new and enlightening data. This can be particularly useful in research with young people, whose voices are not always heard in research, and therefore illustrate the capacity of mixed methods to address critical transformative and social justice agendas.