Open AccessMixed‐methods research in pharmacy practice: basics and beyond (part 1)
Author(s) -
Hadi Muhammad Abdul,
Alldred David Phillip,
Closs S. José,
Briggs Michelle
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of pharmacy practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.42
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 2042-7174
pISSN - 0961-7671
DOI - 10.1111/ijpp.12010
Subject(s) - medicine , multimethodology , pharmacy , qualitative research , management science , qualitative property , quality (philosophy) , research design , pharmacy practice , health care , quantitative research , engineering ethics , nursing , computer science , psychology , sociology , engineering , pedagogy , social science , philosophy , epistemology , machine learning , anthropology , economics , economic growth
Abstract This is the first of two papers which explore the use of mixed‐methods research in pharmacy practice. In an era of evidence‐based medicine and policy, high‐quality research evidence is essential for the development of effective pharmacist‐led services. Over the past decade, the use of mixed‐methods research has become increasingly common in healthcare, although to date its use has been relatively limited in pharmacy practice research. In this article, the basic concepts of mixed‐methods research including its definition, typologies and advantages in relation to pharmacy practice research are discussed. Mixed‐methods research brings together qualitative and quantitative methodologies within a single study to answer or understand a research problem. There are a number of mixed‐methods designs available, but the selection of an appropriate design must always be dictated by the research question. Importantly, mixed‐methods research should not be seen as a ‘tool’ to collect qualitative and quantitative data, rather there should be some degree of ‘integration’ between the two data sets. If conducted appropriately, mixed‐methods research has the potential to generate quality research evidence by combining strengths and overcoming the respective limitations of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.