The purpose of this article is to propose a meta-framework for conducting what we term mixed methods representation analyses (MMRA). We define MMRA as the appropriate selection of sampling design (i.e., the sampling frame [random] or sampling boundary [purposive]; sampling combination, comprising the mixing dimension [partial/fully], time dimension [concurrent/sequential], emphasis dimension [dominant/equal status], and relationship among/between samples [identical/parallel/nested/multilevel]; sample size; and number of sampling units [e.g., of people, cases, words, texts, observations, events, incidents, activities, experiences, or any other object of study]) in order to obtain representation and concomitantly meta-inferences consistent with the study’s generalization goal(s). Thus, the goal of conducting MMRA is to attain representation and interpretive consistency in order to enhance the rigor of mixed methods research studies.
Since 2000, only 13% of the total number of empirical research articles (n = 230) published in Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ) have represented mixed research studies. Plausible explanations for why the HRDQ prevalence rate is not more than 13% include the possibility that a high proportion of mixed research studies that are being submitted to HDRQ are not of sufficient quality to be accepted. Thus, in this editorial, we provide evidence‐based guidelines for conducting and reporting mixed research that are framed around Collins, Onwuegbuzie, and Sutton's (2006) 13‐step model of the mixed research process. Further, we divide our reporting standards into four general areas—research formulation, research planning, research implementation, and research dissemination—that we itemize via a taxonomy that contains more than 60 elements.
SUMMARY
The dilated, round pupils of a species of suckermouth armoured catfish(Liposarcus pardalis) constrict slowly on illumination (over 35-40 min) to form crescent-shaped apertures. Ray tracing of He—Ne laser beams shows that the lenses of a related species (Pterygoplichthys etentaculus), which also has a crescent-shaped pupil, are well corrected for longitudinal spherical aberration, suggesting that the primary purpose of the irregular pupil in armoured catfish is not to correct such aberration. It is suggested that the iris operculum may serve to camouflage the pupil of these substrate-dwelling species. An examination of the catfish retina shows the photoreceptors to be exclusively single cones interspersed with elongate rods and demonstrates the presence of multiple optic nerve head papillae. Two areas of high ganglion cell density, each side of a vertically oriented falciform process, provide increased spatial resolving power along the axes examining the substrate in front of and behind the animal.
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