The flexibility of the Delphi Technique has enabled its application across a wide range of fields to facilitate problem solving, decision-making and consensus-building. However, flexibility brings with it a corresponding lack of detailed methodological guidelines, and the rigour of Delphi studies has been questioned. This paper presents a recent…

This article delineates the process through which a quantitative study in the context of Pakistan was adapted into emergent mixed methods research due to COVID-19-related complexities. The in-process data collection was halted abruptly as schools were closed and lockdowns were imposed across Pakistan in the early 2020s due to COVID-19. In…

This article discusses the potential of mixed-method social network analysis (MMSNA) as a methodology for designing and conducting studies that address questions of interplay between human agency and social structures in educational settings. First, we discuss a rationale for using MMSNA referring to the theoretical calls for better understanding…

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…

A novel approach to integrating Cluster Analysis (CA) within qualitative inquiry is presented, grounded in a large, unstructured dataset from open and rather unstructured interviews. This dataset was previously subjected to typical (theory sensitive) thematic analyses. Transformed into quantitative binary matrix structures, the CA offers…

Within mixed methods research, a key issue is how to mix qualitative and quantitative research orientations. Similar debates arise within a mixed method called Q methodology [Q] that has an 80-year history and strong qualitative leanings. Q is often identified with the sorting of statements and the factor analysis (grouping) of people with similar…

This paper explores the historic ideas and practice of outdoor education, as developed in Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Émile", and realized by Adolf Reichwein's rural teaching practice. We aimed at developing a comprehensive research design, triangulating different qualitative data (text and photos). In the paper, we explore how the idea of…

This integrative literature review takes up the ongoing discussion about the place of mixed methods designs in educational research. We focus on studies that investigate the role of argumentation in inquiry-based learning, either as a means for enhancing inquiry (argument-based inquiry) or as a learning outcome (inquiry-based argument). We argue…

Little attention has been paid to the processes that are involved in making sense of the role dissonance between sources of data has played in the development of theoretical insight. This methodologically oriented investigation considers an unusual set of case exemplars that used mixed methods and dialogic forms of mixing in ways that produced…

A recurring debate in mixed methods research involves the relationship between research methods and research paradigms. Whereas some scholars appear to assume that qualitative and quantitative research methods each necessarily belong with particular research paradigms, others have called for greater flexibility and have taken a variety of stances…

Educational research teams are increasingly recognized as an optimal configuration for addressing more complex mixed methods research problems; however, their development is often approached as a conventional research collaboration rather than an integrative one. An approach informed by complexity theory provides the practical guidance for…

A multiplicity of perspectives and methods are necessary to investigate the complexities of human development and educational institutions. However, many would-be MM researchers still have questions about how to conceptualize and conduct MM research. Taking a dialectic stance, or mixing research approaches to suit the demands of a research…

This article reports on an exploratory project in which technology and dynamic social network analysis (SNA) are used for modelling classroom interaction. SNA focuses on the links between social actors, draws on graphic imagery to reveal and display the patterning of those links, and develops mathematical and computational models to describe and…

Social network analysis (SNA) has been used in many educational studies in the past decade, but what these studies have in common is that the populations in question in most cases are defined and known to the researchers studying the networks. Snowball sampling is an SNA methodology most often used to study hidden populations, for example, groups…

When studying a complex research phenomenon, a mixed methods design allows to answer a broader set of research questions and to tap into different aspects of this phenomenon, compared to a monomethod design. This paper reports on how a sequential equal status design (QUAN ? QUAL) was used to examine students' reasoning processes when solving…