I recently read the entire book "Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences" edited by Sharon Andrew and Elizabeth J. Halcomb and published in 2009. Before I began reading, I thought it was mostly for master's and doctoral level students conducting mixed methods research for the first time. I was wrong. It is so well-written that I ended up reading it from cover to cover, and it evoked distant memories of my mixed methods undergraduate thesis, which was done within one year a decade ago.
The title of that project was "Intergenerational cycle of poverty among residents in three new towns". I was not sure what I did was already a sophisticated mixed methods design, probably because the term mixed methods was not used that much back then, although a couple of my fellow schoolmates did use both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research (i.e., mixed methods). From concept development to finalized thesis, every student had roughly one year to conduct a study, anyone who failed to adhere to this timeline would "fail" the course and would need to repeat it (brutal, eh?!).
I used a concurrent complementary research design in which I collected quantitative data in face-to-face surveys and then interviewed a subset of them (N=50) for qualitative input. The total sample size was 150! The quantitative survey data were analyzed using SPSS with some factor analyses and ANOVA tests (can't remember exactly) and the qualitative data yielded seven themes with sufficient quotes to support the themes. More importantly, the final research findings integrated (not segregated) both sets of results to arrive at explanations of the cycle of poverty between the grandparent, parent and children generations and recommendations for breaking this cycle.
Now that I have a decade more research experience under my belt to reflect, this undergraduate thesis was definitely rigorous enough to yield at least one journal paper, if not two (one for the quantitative results and one for the qualitative or integrated results). However, because I was just an undergraduate student and the lack of expertise of my two supervisors on mixed methods research, no journal papers came out of it.
This led me to think, "Having a supervisor who is invested in your academic success is so important!" Without a mentor who is committed to maximize your learning and to help you succeed, even the brightest student may be passed over for great opportunities. I wish all students who are serious in academia will get the attention and mentorship they well deserve.
Book Citation: Andrew S and Halcomb EJ (eds.) (2009). Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
The title of that project was "Intergenerational cycle of poverty among residents in three new towns". I was not sure what I did was already a sophisticated mixed methods design, probably because the term mixed methods was not used that much back then, although a couple of my fellow schoolmates did use both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research (i.e., mixed methods). From concept development to finalized thesis, every student had roughly one year to conduct a study, anyone who failed to adhere to this timeline would "fail" the course and would need to repeat it (brutal, eh?!).
I used a concurrent complementary research design in which I collected quantitative data in face-to-face surveys and then interviewed a subset of them (N=50) for qualitative input. The total sample size was 150! The quantitative survey data were analyzed using SPSS with some factor analyses and ANOVA tests (can't remember exactly) and the qualitative data yielded seven themes with sufficient quotes to support the themes. More importantly, the final research findings integrated (not segregated) both sets of results to arrive at explanations of the cycle of poverty between the grandparent, parent and children generations and recommendations for breaking this cycle.
Now that I have a decade more research experience under my belt to reflect, this undergraduate thesis was definitely rigorous enough to yield at least one journal paper, if not two (one for the quantitative results and one for the qualitative or integrated results). However, because I was just an undergraduate student and the lack of expertise of my two supervisors on mixed methods research, no journal papers came out of it.
This led me to think, "Having a supervisor who is invested in your academic success is so important!" Without a mentor who is committed to maximize your learning and to help you succeed, even the brightest student may be passed over for great opportunities. I wish all students who are serious in academia will get the attention and mentorship they well deserve.
Book Citation: Andrew S and Halcomb EJ (eds.) (2009). Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.