For Instructors of Research Methods that Include Mixed Methods Research (MMR)- LESSONS PLANS
There are links on this page to a series of lesson plans for instructors needing something off-the-shelf to teach a couple of units about mixed methods in a graduate level research course. The lessons are based on chapters in the textbook, An Introduction to Fully Integrated Mixed Methods Research (SAGE, 2018). They can be used separately in a research methods course that includes mixed methods that incorporates chapters and articles from multiple experts or together as a group in a course that uses the textbook as its principal text. The lessons are adaptable to a course with a discussion component that is taught in-person or online (or a combination of the two!). Additional examples of activities and supplemental readings appear in each chapter of the textbook.
Each chapter invites critical thinking by considering different viewpoints about MMR. Taken individually or together, the lessons are designed to introduce some of the complexity that is associated with distinguishing research methods and the decision that are involved in fine-tuning a personal viewpoint about mixed methods.
Each lesson includes a statement about its purpose, a list of learning objectives for the session, describes an assignment or activity and the topic of a position paper that can follow it, and identifies one more readings linked to the topic.
Lesson Plans by Chapter ( Links to downloadable handouts in the table below).
- Chapter 1: Foundational Issues (Activity: What Distinguishes MMR as a Methodology?)
- Chapter 2: Categorizing Purposes (Activity: Types of Mixing in a Hypothetical Example of Theory Testing about Bullying in Schools)
- Chapter 3: Recognizing Paradigmatic Assumptions (Activity: Developing a Response to the Critique that QUAL and QUANT are Incompatible)
- Chapter 4: Distinguishing MMR Designs
- Chapter 5: Strategies to Mix Prior to Analysis (Activity: Mixing through Sampling)
- Chapter 6: Mixed Method Analytical Procedures
- Chapter 7: Data Transformation (Activity: Quantifying Qualitative Data to Detect Patterns)
- Chapter 8: Evaluating Quality (Activity: Evaluating a MMR Article)
- Chapter 9: MMR Research Proposals and Dissertations
- Chapter 10: Controversies (Activity: Develop a Personalized Position Statement about MM)
Lesson Plans for Chapters in an Introduction to Fully Integrated Mixed Methods Research
| CHAPTER | TOPIC | LINK TO HANDOUT |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Characteristics that Distinguish MMR as a Methodology | What Distinguishes MMR as a Methodology |
| Chapter 2 | Distinguishing Purposes for Mixing | LESSON PLAN purposes |
| Chapter 3 | Responding to Criticism of MMR | Responding to the Paradigm Critique |
| Chapter 4 | ||
| Chapter 5 | Mixing During Sampling | LESSON PLAN mixing during data collection |
| Chapter 6 | Mixed Method Analytic Procedures | Mixed Methods Analytic Procedures |
| Chapter 7 | Quantifying Qualitative Data in a Coding Matrix | LESSON PLAN DATA TRANSFORMATION IN MMR |
| Chapter 8 | Evaluating a MMR Article | EvaluatingaMMRArticle |
| Chapter 9 | Crafting a Personal Mental Model for MMR | LESSON-PLAN-DEVELOPING-A-MENTAL-MODEL-2 |
DIFFERENT WAYS TO ORGANIZE A MMR CLASS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
No one has a written a textbook about this yet, but one way to organize a research methods course that spans qualitative, quantitative, and MMR is to organize it around research traditions. There is an ample supply of articles available for each of the pairings suggested below.
Key units for this approach to method pairing could be:
- Mixed Methods and Experimental Research
- Mixed Methods and Intervention Research
- Mixed Methods and Evaluation
- Mixed Methods and Grounded Theory
- Mixed Methods and Case Study
OTHER ACTIVITIES TO ENGAGE CRITICAL THINKING AND TO EXPERIENCE ACTIVE LEARNING
- An Activity to Promote Interaction by Annotating a Manuscript or Article about MMR. This exercise could be completed with a draft manuscript prepared by the instructor or with a publication relevant to the course contents. Help students learn to interact with a text and with each other as well as to learn critical thinking skills, by asking students to add questions and comments in the margins. These can be about the text or about the comments of others that extend to its figures and tables. This activity can encourage students to recognize that they can question or even disagree with the text or locate ways that differs from what other experts have recorded.
- Compare Summaries Afforded by AI. Promote critical thinking and engagement in reading by comparing the summaries produced by AI now available as a feature in Acrobat. Their accuracy and omissions can be discussed.