Mixed methods (MM) research provides a more complete picture of reality by including both complementary quantitative and qualitative data.
A clinical analogy for MM research is asking patients to rate their pain numerically on a 0–10 scale and then to describe the pain character in words.
MM researchers sometimes include both experimental hypotheses and non-experimental research questions in the same study.
Common MM subtypes are in the below table. In concurrent designs investigators collect all data at the same time, and in sequential designs they collect one type of data before the other. In triangulated MM, data receive equal weight, but in embedded designs, such as a large RCT in which only a small subset of RCT participants are interviewed, the main study data is weighted more heavily. In sequential MM, researchers give more weight to whatever type of data were collected first; for exploratory this is qualitative data and for explanatory it is quantitative data.
FOR MORE INFO: WHAT IS MIXED METHODS RESEARCH? – Dr. John Creswell
| MM DESIGN | EQUALLY WEIGHTED DATA | PRIORITY WEIGHTED DATA |
| Concurrent data collection: *Triangulation | All data | |
| *Embedded | Main study data | |
| Sequential data collection: *Exploratory | Qualitative data | |
| *Explanatory | Quantitative data |
Discovering Your Inner Scientist 
Very interesting, I wonder if the MM can include the non-verbal signs of pain, thank you for sharing Marty.
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definitely! This is one of the advantages of qualitative data collection–the investigator can take in “the whole picture.”
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