Appraising mixed methods research

There is increasing interest in the use of mixed methods research approaches among health researchers. While mixed methods research has the potential to reveal rich data and deeper understandings of complex phenomena, it needs to be evaluated with the same level of critical appraisal as other methodologies. To date, however, much of the discourse around the critical appraisal of mixed methods research has discussed the challenges and considerations underlying critical appraisal. There has been limited agreement reached on optimal methods of evaluating this body of literature. This chapter will synthesize the literature on critically appraising mixed methods research and provide advice to those reviewing mixed methods papers around considerations in critical appraisal for this type of research