Authors John W. Creswell and Vicki L. Plano Clark walk readers through the entire research process, from formulating questions to designing, collecting data, and interpreting results and include updated examples from published mixed methods studies drawn from the social, behavioural, health, and education disciplines.
New to the Third Edition is a focus now on three core mixed methods designs, plus their application (in a new Chapter 4) to four additional methodological approaches: intervention trials; case studies; participatory-social justice designs; and program evaluations. Also included is expanded discussion throughout on integration of quantitative and qualitative data and results; more attention to the use of theory in mixed methods research; discussion of current advances with mixed methods research and suggested techniques and strategies that might make a mixed methods study more sophisticated and state-of-the-art; and a new conclusion that pulls together the key elements of the core designs from the standpoint of incorporating all of the steps in the process of research: the final chapter now summarizes the entire process in one table.
John W. Creswell, PhD, is a Professor of Family Medicine and Senior Research Scientist of
the Michigan Mixed Methods Program. He has authored numerous articles and 34 books on
mixed methods research, qualitative research, and research design. While at the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln, he held the Clifton Endowed Professor Chair, served as Director of the
Mixed Methods Research Office, co-founded SAGE’s Journal of Mixed Methods Research, and
was an Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan and a consultant to
the Veterans Administration Health Services Research Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was
a Senior Fulbright Scholar to South Africa in 2008 and to Thailand in 2012. In 2011, he co-led
a National Institutes of Health working group on the “best practices of mixed methods research
in the health sciences,” served as a Visiting Professor at Harvard’s School of Public Health and
received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In 2014, he was
the founding President of the Mixed Methods International Research Association. In 2015, he
joined the staff of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan to Co-Direct the Michigan
Mixed Methods Program. In 2017, he coauthored the American Psychological Association
“standards” on qualitative and mixed methods research. The fourth edition of this book on
Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design won the 2018 McGuffey Longevity Award from the U.S.
Textbook & Academic Authors Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he gave virtual
keynote presentations to many countries from his office in Osaka, Japan. Updates on his work
can be found on his website at johnwcreswell.com.
Vicki L. Plano Clark, Ph.D., is professor of research methods in the School of Education at the University of Cincinnati, U.S.A. She is an applied research methodologist who studies, applies, teaches, mentors, consults, and writes about the adoption and use of mixed methods research. Her scholarship focuses on resolving methodological issues associated with mixed methods designs and understanding larger contexts that influence the application of mixed methods research. Her writings include Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (2018, coauthored with John W. Creswell) and Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to the Field (2016, coauthored with Nataliya V. Ivankova). She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research and Editor of the Mixed Methods Research Series with Sage Publishing. She has held leadership roles for the Mixed Methods Research Special Interest Group and the Professors of Educational Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She is dedicated to advancing opportunities for students and scholars across disciplines to understand and apply diverse research methods to address important real-world problems.
