If you are serious about developing expertise in mixed methods research it pays to create a personal library.

As young children, most of us were cautioned never to mark up a book or even so much as turn down the corner of a page. It is a different story when you are building an expertise. Writing comments in the margins and highlighting text are among the strategies that streamline the process when you return to article or chapter in the future.

To develop an expertise requires, on the other hand, to accummulate a personal library and a system to access it over time. The system I developed to keep track of hundreds and hundreds of publications about mixed methods research began more than 20 years ago. I started, first, in a simple way with a file cabinet and a set of folders to file articles and chapters alphabetically. At the same time, I created and up-dated a comphrehensive reference list and on-line set of PDFs. What started as one file cabinet now extends to three, three drawer cabinets of articles and chapters all marked up with my handwriting.

Developing a deep expertise requires decades. Malcolm Gladwell introduced the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery in a field. For me, in addition to new reading, this has meant returning to key articles and chapters to clarify and add to my understanding. Thre process is streamlined because I mainly revisit my annotations and comments and add to them. Over time, these layers of marking up is a way to revisit my own thinking. It expose refinements in my own thinking. The system is part of developing an expansive understanding of mixed methods research.

To develop expertise in mixed methods research requires reading widely, across authors, and academic fields. Each of the now four generations of Handbooks of Mixed Methods Research produced by SAGE (2003, 2010, 2018, 2023) provide a window in to the diverse ways of thinking about MMR at particular point in time. I keep them within easy reach of my desk. They are heavy and expensive but an important resource to have in your personal library. You will return to some of the chapters you’ve marked up again and again. The 2018 Handbook is especially helpful to those interested in an approach to MMR that reflects a qualitative orientation.

My next post will be devoted to re-reading.