Module D

Learning objectives
The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of how different research strategies or methods may be integrated to meet a research aim.

Using mixed methods is increasingly used in business research to enhance knowledge, improve the validity of findings by triangulation or widening of perspectives by complementary knowledge production. A ‘mixed methods’ design refers to a combination of quantitative and qualitative research strategies or methods within a single research project, in which the emphasis may be on either the qualitative component, the quantitative component or the two strategies may be fully integrated. In comparison, a multimethod design may concentrate exclusively on a qualitative or a quantitative approach but use more than one method within this approach.

The focus of this course is on discussing the benefits and challenges of applying a mixed methods approach and how a project may be designed with different or equal emphasis on a qualitative or quantitative research strategy. As basis for designing a mixed method study, the questions of how different research paradigms, theories and diverse data sources may be aligned in a mixed-methods study will be discussed. The module will address the following key questions: Why mix methods? Which methods to mix? How to mix? How to analyse and interpret? Which problems does the mixing of methods solve?

The students will be offered advanced skills to discuss and critically reflect on if and how their own project would benefit from employing a mixed methods approach. In addition, publication strategies with respect to a thesis based on a mixed methods design will be discussed. Based on course literature, discussions and exercises, the students will make individual presentations of a proposed project using a mixed methods approach and hand in a max 3-page outline of the proposal in addition to a PP-presentation for which feedback will be provided. The course is of use to PhD-students at all stages, and particularly valuable at the early stages of the PhD process.

Time and place
19-20 (Monday-Tuesday) and 22 (Thursday) May 2025, Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V.
Room: 19-20 May: 2610-520/521, 2610-530 and 2610-537 (group room); 22 May: 2610-520/521 and 2610-530.

Teachers

• Professor Liisa Lähteenmäki (course coordinator)
• Professor Irene Pollach
• Professor John Parm Ulhøi

Sequence and topics 

Day 1:                                

• Mixed methods designs: Purpose, characteristics and practical implementation
• An overview of approaches: Convergent mixed methods design, Explanatory sequential mixed methods design, Exploratory mixed methods design, and (several) Complex mixed methods designs
• Integration in mixed methods research
• Mixed method designs with a deductive, theoretical drive (QUANT+qual: quantitative and qualitative methods used simultaneously with a deductive, theoretical drive, e.g., experiments supported by qualitative interviews) 

Day 2:

• Mixed method designs with an inductive, theoretical drive (QUAL+quan: qualitative and quantitative methods used sequentially with an inductive, theoretical thrust, e.g., focus groups, (n)ethnography and document analysis followed by a cross-sectional survey)
• Mixed methods using Computer-Aided text analysis
• Possibilities and challenges of using mixed methods approaches

Day 3:          

• Presentations and feedback

Basic literature – (required reading)
• Schoonenboom, J., & Johnson, R. B. (2017). How to construct a mixed methods research design. Kolner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 69(Suppl 2), 107.
• Harrison, R. L., Reilly, T. M., & Creswell, J. W. (2020). Methodological rigor in mixed methods: An application in management studies. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 14(4), 473-495.
• Johnson, R. B. and Onwuegbuzie A. J. (2004) Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33, (7), 14-26.

Blueprint articles – for work in class (the one assigned to you required – the rest cursory)
TBD

Articles for inductive – deductive task related group work (required reading)
TBD

Recommended reading
• Fetters, M. D., Curry, L. A., & Creswell, J. W. (2013). Achieving integration in mixed methods designs—principles and practices. Health services research, 48(6pt2), 2134-2156.
• Harrison III, R. L. (2013). Using mixed methods designs in the Journal of Business Research, 1990–2010. Journal of Business Research, 66(11), 2153-2162.
• Pollach, I. (2012). Taming textual data: The contribution of corpus linguistics to computer-aided text analysis, Organizational Research Methods, 15(2), 263-287
• Ragelienė, T., & Grønhøj, A. (2021). The role of peers, siblings and social media for children’s healthy eating socialization: a mixed methods study. Food Quality and Preference, 93, 104255

• Wiedemann, G. (2013). Opening up to big data: Computer-assisted analysis of textual data in social sciences, Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 14(2), www.qualitative-research.net

Application
Application deadline: 10 April 2025. Please download and fill in the application form. The application should be sent by email to: Department of Management, Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, att. Lisbeth Widahl. Please note that your application is binding.

Fee
External participants (from outside Aarhus University) will be charged a fee that covers lunches and refreshments (for more information, please contact Lisbeth Widahl). Participants will have to make their own arrangements regarding travel and accommodation.

Credits
2.5 ECTS