In today’s MHR Incubator webinar, a mixed panel of experts are gathering to discuss the importance, the challenges and ways forward to progressing mixed methods mental health research. Here Dr Ola Demkowicz, co-author of a recent paper on the topic, sets out some of the key ideas.
Mental health and the systems around mental health are inherently complex and multidimensional. We therefore need methods that can be used to effectively match that complexity. Mixed methods research – formally integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods within one study or project – is widely recognised as a valuable tool with which to do that.
Mixed methods have been increasingly applied in mental health research – particularly in some areas, such as nursing research and service and intervention research. Yet, they are not as well-embedded across the field as we might hope or expect, with researchers continuing to face a range of ongoing challenges and limitations in practice.
In this recent piece published in BMJ Mental Health, which followed on from a Mental Health Incubator event, we set out to reassert the importance of mixed methods in mental health research and to examine solutions to some of these challenges. We outline some of the core benefits and features of mixed methods research, and offer worked examples from our own research, to show some of the wide range of ways that researchers can make use of mixed methods approaches.
We suggest various pathways to advancing the use of mixed methods within the mental health research field. We advocate for:
- A shift from fragmentation to integration, pushing beyond siloed thinking and practices and exploring the building of a shared language and agenda
- Improved publication routes for mixed methods studies, including openness to practical solutions that could aid researchers in feasibly publishing engaging mixed methods outputs
- Effective resourcing, in thinking about both the training available in mixed methods research as well as consideration of practical challenges in specific projects, such as funding constraints
To further advance mixed methods research in the field, and overcome some longstanding challenges, we need active commitment from across our field and infrastructure – including individual researchers, leaders, institutions, editors, funders, and training providers. We encourage teams to use this piece to initiate, or re-initiate, discussion about the role they can play in advancing use of mixed methods in the field.
An MHR Incubator webinar on this topic takes place on Monday 14 July, 1-2pm. Register here. Missed it? Don’t worry – a recording of the webinar will be shared on the MHR Incubator website following the webinar.
You might also be interested in exploring MHR Incubator resources on navigating partnership working.