Mixed methods research requires specialized integration skills in addition to leveraging existing qualitative and quantitative researcher expertise. Further expertise is necessary for pursuing mixed methods research under conditions of ‘complexity’, that is, the state or quality of having many, often interconnected parts that are difficult to study because no known solutions or procedures exist to guide researchers. Recognizing various sources of complexity in our mixed methods research settings requires new ways of thinking about and approaching our studies. Adaptative practices help mixed methods researchers navigate the emergent and changeable study conditions characteristic of complex phenomena. Adopting a complexity lens promotes a view of how we see, understand, and influence mixed methods research reflective of assumptions of nonlinearity and the principles of complexity science. This course will engage discussions of integrative thinking with complexity when designing, executing, and disseminating mixed methods research.

We will consider four key questions:

1. How can integrative thinking with complexity guide mixed methods researchers in their designs?
2. What does designing for integration in mixed methods research under conditions of complexity involve, including the role of theory, mixed sampling strategies, and data procedures?
3. How can we optimize descriptive evidence of integration and visual diagramming in proposals and publications when studying complex phenomena?
4. What recent advances in mixed methods research can be incorporated into complexity-informed proposals, practices, and manuscripts?

Knowledge of and experience with the issues raised in these questions will maximize the quality of your designs, feasibility of your procedures, and avenues for disseminating your completed mixed methods research.

Participants are encouraged to bring a study idea or preliminary draft of a proposal or paper that they can explore during the workshop as time allows.

Workshop content is derived from diverse sources, including Poth’s text: Innovation in Mixed Methods Research (2018, Sage), Poth’s Handbook chapters and editorial role: The SAGE Handbook of Mixed Methods Research Design (2023, Sage), and Poth’s open access articles:

• Poth, C. (2020). Confronting complex problems with adaptive mixed methods research practices. Caribbean Journal of Mixed Methods research, 1(1), 29-46. Access HERE
• Poth, C., Bulut, O., Aquilina, A., & Otto, S. J. G. (2021). Using data mining for rapid complex case study descriptions: Examples of public health briefings during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 15(3), 348-373. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15586898211013925
• Poth, C. (2019). Realizing the integrative capacity of educational mixed methods research teams: Using a complexity-sensitive strategy to boost innovation, Mixed Methods special issue of the International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 42(3), 252-266. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2019.1590813
• Poth, C., Molina-Azorin, J. F., & Fetters. M. D. (2022). Virtual special issue on “Design of mixed methods research: Past advancements, present conversations, and future possibilities,” Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 16(3), 274-280. https://doi.org/10.1177/15586898221110375
• Gokiert, R., Poth, C., Kingsley, B., El Hassar, & Tink, L. (2022). Insights from a complex mixed methods community-based participatory design for responding to the evaluation capacity needs of the early childhood field. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation. 36(3), 287-315. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.70920