Navigating Misperceptions about Mixed Method Research in a Contemporary Context

Presenter: Dr. Elizabeth G. Creamer
Now more than thirty years from its inception as a distinct methodology, understanding has evolved about the complex ways mixed methods have been implemented in the real world of practice outside the control achieved in a laboratory. Acknowledging diverse points of view, this session highlights some common misperceptions about mixed methods research. Misperceptions about mixed methods addressed in this session include:
1. mixed method research is new,
2. it always contains one source of qualitative data and one source of quantitative data,
3.mixing data is mixing paradigms,
4. there is a defined number of mixed method designs,
5. drawing inferences can be postponed to a final stage of the research process,
6. methodological transparency is sufficient to evaluate quality.
Biography:
Dr. Elizabeth G. Creamer is professor emerita from the Educational Research and Evaluation Program in the School of Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Over the course of her 35+-year career as both an academic and an administrator, Creamer authored 4 books or monographs, 124 journal articles and book chapters, and 95 conference presentations and workshops, including in many international venues. Creamer served on the board of the Mixed Methods International Research Association for four years, including in the role of president. She is the author of two textbooks: An Introduction to Fully Integrated Mixed Methods Research (2018) and Advancing Grounded Theory with Mixed Methods (2021). Her newest writing project involves a new textbook, Leveraging Visual Displays During Analysis in Mixed Methods Research.
This webinar is part of the webinar series on Insights in Qualitative Research Methods, a partnership between ATLAS.ti, the International Qualitative Research Toolkit at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and Inquiry Methodology at the Indiana University School of Education.