Fetters et al.'s (2013) mixed methods integration framework uses construction metaphors: building, connecting, merging, and embedding. In a similar vein, this article uses an architectural metaphor and introduces design patterns as building blocks for mixed methods research design. A design pattern embeds one specific design decision into its…

The use of Mixed Methods (MM) in evaluation has increasingly become a valuable asset in evaluators' methodological toolbox. Despite prolific research on various aspects of mixed methods, from typologies to ontological debates, there remains a dearth of empirically derived evidence on effectively communicating MM findings. This lack of empirical…

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a hybrid method designed to bridge the gap between qualitative and quantitative research in a case-sensitive approach that considers each case holistically as a complex configuration of conditions and outcomes. QCA allows for multiple conjunctural causation, implying that it is often a combination of…

Mixed methods studies in social sciences are predominantly employed to explore broad, complex, and multifaceted issues and to evaluate policies and interventions. The integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in social sciences most often follows the Peircean pragmatic approach--abductive hypothesis formation followed by deductive and…

Increasingly, the broader public, media and policymakers are looking to qualitative research to provide answers to our most pressing social questions. While an exciting and perhaps overdue moment for qualitative researchers, it is also a time when the method is coming under increasing scrutiny for a lack of reliability and transparency. The…

In mixed methods approaches, statistical models are used to identify "nested" cases for intensive, small-n investigation for a range of purposes, including notably the examination of causal mechanisms. This article shows that under a commonsense interpretation of causal effects, large-n models allow no reliable conclusions about effect…

Background: Enhanced uptake of systematic reviews that use qualitative comparative analyses (QCA) requires knowing how end-users interpret such findings. The study purpose was to identify effective approaches to communicating results from a QCA within a systematic review. Methods: Sequential exploratory mixed methods design; thematic analysis of…

This case study highlights three processes in conducting a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research on comparative curricular and professional experiential outcomes in an online curriculum development course. In the original study, I compared the results of expected learning outcomes, as defined in a curriculum course syllabus, with…

This paper offers a critical analysis of the Comparative Case Study (CCS). While CCS provides a holistic methodological framework for case-based research, it is not free from drawbacks. One criticism the approach may receive, ironically, is the lack of criticism it encounters. Another critique can include its naming, as the name 'comparative case…

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the combination of two methods on the basis of set theory. In our introduction and this special issue, we focus on two variants of cross-case set-theoretic methods--"qualitative comparative analysis" (QCA) and typological theory (TT)--and their combination with process tracing (PT).…

We conducted a systematic literature review of 111 empirical studies published between 1969 and 2018. We found that research does not exponentially grow in comparison to research on higher education or leadership; empirical research emerging in the 1980s does not completely replace non-empirical inquiry. Studies from English-speaking authors…

Mixed methods, cross-cultural designs are a special case of the more general, mixed methods between-groups designs. The defining feature of mixed methods is the principled integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches, and cross-cultural comparison is premised on the systematic collection and analysis of data from two or more cultural…

Mixed methods longitudinal studies continue to be rare, yet have potential for transcending the limits of qualitative and quantitative paradigms. This article compares the life stories of 47 young people generated from a cohort study of 6000 children born in 1995. The cases were sampled through an association between two variables--drug use and…

The combination of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) with process tracing, which we call set-theoretic multimethod research (MMR), is steadily becoming more popular in empirical research. Despite the fact that both methods have an elected affinity based on set theory, it is not obvious how a within-case method operating in a single case and a…

The combined usage of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and process tracing (PT) in set-theoretic multi-method research (MMR) holds great potential for reaching valid inferences. Established views of case selection after QCA hold that studying negative cases provides lessons about the causes of an outcome in a limited set of circumstances. In…