Integrative analysis for mixed methods research

Mixed methods research is an approach in which the researcher purposefully integrates varied types of data (usually including both numbers and text) and/or varied approaches to analysis of data so that they become interdependent in achieving a common theoretical or research outcome"”an outcome that might not have been achievable using a single qualitative or quantitative approach (Bazeley, 2010, 2018). Mixed methods research is therefore distinguished by (a) use of more than one approach to data collection and/or analysis and (b) the manner in which those approaches are combined to produce a cohesive, enhanced whole. These features will be reflected in the depth and/or breadth of conclusions drawn and in the way in which evidence for those conclusions is presented. This entry begins with an introduction to integration in mixed methods research. Three pathways to integration of mixed methods data and analyses"”complementary, comparative, and transformative"”are then considered, with the strategies supporting them.