Software tools and the development of multiple and mixed methods research

Although researchers have been combining multiple research strategies and mixing methods ‘forever’ in community studies and in evaluation research, the ‘coming of age’ of mixed methods as a specific genre of research, and its declaration as a third major approach (after quantitative and qualitative), is relatively recent (Johnson & Onweugbuzie 2004). In consequence, literature within the area continues to grapple with a range of unresolved or otherwise troublesome issues, such as standardisation of nomenclature; issues of ontology and epistemology; issues of sampling and validity; and what it really means to integrate methods and analyses (Moran-Ellis et al 2006; Teddlie & Tashakkori 2003).