Mixed Methods Research Outside the Box

In Mixed Methods Research Outside the Box, Joseph A. Maxwell shows readers how to carry out unconventional, yet effective, mixed methods research. Providing a new way to think about and combine qualitative and quantitative research, this readable text takes a broad view of mixed methods, revealing the largely unrecognized early history of mixed methods research and its current diversity across disciplines. Maxwell brings together work on combining qualitative and quantitative methods from a variety of disciplines and puts them in conversation with one another. He identifies mixed methods’ philosophical bases, presenting an “interactive” model of design that more closely integrates qualitative and quantitative elements and emphasizes the complementarity of qualitative and quantitative methods for understanding causation and generalization. Drawing from recent works on causation, integration, and philosophy of science, this text promotes innovations in mixed methods, such as process tracing in political science and design-based research in education. This groundbreaking book provides readers with a new way of thinking about, developing, and conducting mixed methods research.