Mixed Methods Approaches and their Application in Educational Research

This chapter discusses the use of mixed methods approaches in educational research and provides examples that document the way mixed methods designs and approaches have been employed to study complex educational questions. The main features of some common mixed methods designs will be explored building on, and elaborating, discussions by Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003; 2010). The way mixed methods research can be used to investigate complex social phenomena, reveal patterns and associations, provide generalisations and develop and test theories and also provide rich evidence to illuminate understanding of educational topics is discussed. The chapter uses several studies as exemplars to highlight the potential of mixed methods research in studying classroom practice and to illustrate the way both quantitative and qualitative data can be analysed and the results integrated. Two are research studies that address a number of questions about the variation in teachers’ classroom practice and the third study is an evaluation that studies the practice of a specific group of teachers, those trained via Teach First. The chapter compares the kinds of research questions addressed by the qualitative and quantitative strands of these three studies and highlights the sequencing of the research, the ways different kinds of data were analysed and linked and the processes of integration and synthesis. It explores the methodological challenges faced, the knowledge claims made and how the authors substantiated their findings and conclusions.