Journal of Mixed Methods Studies

A Fully Integrated Systematic Review of Mixed Methods Design-Based Research

2023-11-26T00:32:05+03:00

Design-based research (DBR) is an educational research methodology that is commonly used in the fields of education, instructional technology, and learning sciences. When conducting DBR, researchers collaborate with practitioners (e.g., educators) and other stakeholders (e.g., parents, community members), often including the learners themselves, for the purpose of developing and evaluating innovative solutions to real-world problems within specific contexts, with a primary focus on improving practice and generating practical knowledge. DBR is particularly suited to mixed methods research. However, it is not clear the extent to which mixed methods research approaches are used in DBR studies, as opposed to monomethod research approaches that involve the sole use of qualitative research approaches or the sole use of quantitative research approaches. Therefore, in this study, what we refer to as a fully integrated systematic review of Scopus-indexed works from January 1, 1960 to May 31, 2022 was conducted to determine the prevalence of mixed methods DBR (MM-DBR) studies. This review yielded only 68 published works wherein the author explicitly declared their study as representing some form of a MMDBR study, with the majority of these MM-DBR studies being published within the last decade. Most notably, for all but 4 of these 68 studies, the level of integration occurred at the low end of the integration continuum, being characterized by mixed methods research designs wherein integration only occurred at the interpretation stage of the DBR process. More than two thirds of the authors (29.2%) neither explicitly specified nor described adequately their mixed methods research design. More than one half (i.e., 56.9%) of the MM-DBR studies were not grounded within the mixed methods research literature to any degree at all. Most notably, for all but four studies (i.e., 5.88%), the level of integration occurred at the low end of the integration continuum wherein integration only occurred at the interpretation stage of the MM-DBR process, representing only partial integration of the quantitative and qualitative research components/phases/cycles. As such, we call for more DBR researchers not only to consider using mixed methods research approaches but also to consider using full(er) integration approaches, as we move further into the fifth Industrial Revolution and beyond.

A Mixed Methods Research Study on School Dropout and Mathematics-Related School Dropout

2023-11-26T00:38:57+03:00

School dropout is a persistent problem in educational sciences, and sample research has been conducted on this issue. Research has associated school dropout with various reasons, including academic failure. The current study aims to investigate the reasons of mathematics-related school dropout, as a sub-area of academic failure. The study adopted a mixed methods research design. In the quantitative phase, 955 adults completed a questionnaire regarding their school dropout and not continuing to a further school level. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 program. The descriptive statistics revealed the reasons of general school dropout as family-related reasons, academic failure, environmental conditions, personal reasons, social reasons, teacher factor, health problems, and financial reasons. The inferential statistics (the chi-square test of independence) confirmed that adults’ school dropout was not independent of mathematics failure. The qualitative data analysis program, MAXQDA 2020, was used to account for the reasons of mathematics-related middle school and high school dropout in detail. To this end, interviews were held with two participants who dropped out of middle and high school, and their statements revealed that the reasons of mathematicsrelated school dropout or not continuing to a further school level were mathematics attitude, test anxiety, mathematics anxiety, teacher’s attitude, social factors, and main shortcomings. The qualitative data were analyzed through the singlecase model and two-cases model and presented with MAXmaps. The results demonstrated that the qualitative findings explained and confirmed the quantitative findings. The study offers several recommendations for various disciplines based on the findings.

The 1 + 1 = 1 and 1 + 1 = 3 Integration Formulas in Mixed Methods Research: A Poem Promoting Peaceful and Productive Co-Existence

2023-11-26T00:43:23+03:00

In their editorial published in the International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, Archibald and Onwuegbuzie (2020) called for the inclusion of poetic representation in mixed methods research. With this in mind, in this editorial, I provide a poetic representation that synthesizes my thoughts regarding the recent formal emergence of two integration formulas, namely, the 1 + 1 = 3 integration approach (Fetters & Freshwater, 2015) and the 1 + 1 = 1 integration approach (Onwuegbuzie, 2017; Onwuegbuzie & Hitchcock, 2019). In this editorial, I present only a poem, with no further commentary, in order to ensure that this poem takes center stage. This poem represents an integration of found poetry (Prendergast, 2006) and research poetry (Faulkner, 2009). Found poetry involves the creation of poems by selecting and (re-)arranging existing text from research works, emphasizing themes or ideas present in the source text in order to create new meaning. In contrast, research poetry involves integrating academic research and scholarly content into poetic compositions in order to present the concept of integration in mixed methods research in a creative, accessible, understandable, and engaging manner through poetry. This poem, which also can be classified as a literature-voiced poem (i.e., stemming from literature; Prendergast, 2009), represents a quatrain (Chisholm, 2014)—specifically, a poem with four-line stanzas that involve a traditional rhyme wherein the end of every pair of lines within each stanza rhymes (i.e., an AABB rhyme scheme, wherein each letter indicates which lines rhyme). These stanzas do not have a common metric, with the number of feet per line varying—hopefully, yielding what Lahman et al. (2011) referred to as “good enough research poetry” (p. 894) that is characteristic of novice research poets like me. I hope you find the research poem meaningful.