Mixed Methods Research in Marriage and Family Therapy: A Content Analysis

Abstract

Considering mixed methods research is gaining reputability in the marriage and family therapy field (Research methods in family therapy, Guilford, 2005), we conducted a mixed methods content analysis to examine the prevalence and quality of published mixed and multimethod research during the past 10 years in eight prominent MFT journals (N = 32). Our purpose was to determine the characteristics of studies that utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods, the themes of the rationales for combining methods, and their respective topics of study. We found 16 mixed methods articles, many of which used surveys and interviews, focused on the process of therapy, and did not discuss their methodology as mixed. We encourage authors of mixed methods studies to explicitly define design types, to establish a clear rationale for the combination of methods, to state how qualitative and quantitative methods and data were mixed, and to use theory effectively.

The State of the Art in Family Therapy Research: What Works? How it Works?

“…According to Sells et al (1999), the multimethod model (combination of a variety of methodologies) is the most comprehensive for family therapy research, since it benefits from the potential of both methods and promotes the connection between theory, research and clinical practice. Specifically, the mixed methods research model (quantitative and qualitative research) seems to have much to offer to the SFT field since it allows therapists to understand both process of change and interventions evaluation (Gambrel & Butler, 2013). However, the systemic researchers are still very conditioned by the traditional courses of investigation and have therefore been resisting the adoption of the mixed method or multimethod model.…”

“…However, the systemic researchers are still very conditioned by the traditional courses of investigation and have therefore been resisting the adoption of the mixed method or multimethod model. Although the benefits of the mixed methods model are evident to researchers, little is known about its use in family therapy investigation studies, which results in a lack of mixed methods studies in SFT overall (Gambrel & Butler, 2013). In this study, we identified and selected only one mixed method study (Blow et al, 2009).…”

“…The multimethod bidirectional model, specifically the mixed method research, is recognized by some authors as the most adequate in the case of systemic complexity, but it has been slow and difficult to get scientific attention. Nevertheless, the use of mixed method research continues to grow, especially to study systems, showing its potential in combining the clients/therapists perspective to experimental research (Gambrel & Butler, 2013).…”

Mixed methods analysis strategies in program evaluation beyond “a little quant here, a little qual there”

“…Within engineering education specifically, studies that incorporate mixing often lack diversity in design (Kajfez & Creamer, ), with interviews and surveys as the conventional qualitative and quantitative data sources (see Crede & Borrego, ); the homogenous designs also typify other fields in the social sciences (e.g., Bryman, ; Gambrel & Vi, ). Bryman () argues for a broader exploration of possibilities within mixed methods, particularly with mixing strategies for analysis, which are rarely used in practice even when the data afford the opportunity (O'Cathain et al, ).…”

You Do Not Like the Activity Arranged by the Teacher; What Do You Do?

“…This researcher had no background information about, for example, the children's age or gender. The children's interview answers were studied using content analysis (Gambrel and Butler, 2013).…”