THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATION IN MIXED METHODS RESEARCH: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE USING AN EXAMPLE STUDY IN PHYSIOTHERAPY

G. Skamagki¹, A. King², C. Carpenter³, C. Wåhlin^4,5

¹University of Birmingham, Physiotherapy, Birmingham, United Kingdom, ²Coventry University, Physiotherapy, Coventry, United Kingdom, ³University of British Columbia, Department of Occupational Sciences and Occupational Therapy, Vancouver, Canada, ⁴Linköping University, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Division of Prevention, Division of Rehabilitation and Community Medicine, Linköping, Sweden, ⁵Karolinska Institute, Unit of Intervention and Implementation Research, Institute for Environmental Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden

Background: Integration is a unique attribute of Mixed Methods Research (MMR). However, some MMR studies, published in the field of physiotherapy and other allied health professions, have illustrated a lack of understanding of the concept of integration.

Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to provide guidance for integrating elements of mixed methods research in order to effectively support evidence-based practice in health.

Methods: The concept of integration of findings is explained with reference to the author’s recent PhD study, which used a mixed methods exploratory sequential design. This article describes how the author used a narrative joint display to integrate findings from both the qualitative and survey phases of the study. Then, a step-by-step approach is introduced to guide the interpretation and integration of the findings.

Results: This four-step approach demonstrates integration of the two different datasets: Creating a joint display, linking activity, establishing relationships, and interpreting and reporting. Tables and Figures are used to support detailed description and illustration of the integration process.

Conclusions: A joint display provides a visual representation of how the qualitative and quantitative findings in a MMR study can be integrated. In this way, interpretation of the data drawn from this process extend beyond the individual findings of each study component to facilitate a greater understanding of complex health care issues.

Implications: The complexity of healthcare issues and the diversity of healthcare recipients have contributed to the increasing use of MMR designs in health care. Conducting MMR requires an in-depth understanding of the methodology and the range of data collection methods that are available. Integration and interpretation of the findings are important elements to consider when designing a MMR study.
Researchers require a broader knowledge base and research skills than are needed to conduct quantitative or qualitative research alone.
Designing and implementing MMR in teams where specific research expertise can be shared is recommended.

Funding acknowledgements: No funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Keywords:
Mixed methods research
Integration
Joint displa

Topics:
Research methodology, knowledge translation & implementation science
Education

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: This work is complementary to the author's original PhD these which ethical approval has been granted. This is a methodological article that is driven through secondary data. The link to this published article can be found here: To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2022.2120375