The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to describe and compare how researchers in the education, nursing, psychology, and sociology disciplines operationalize and conceptualize the quality of mixed methods research (MMR). An international sample of 44 MMR researchers representing these four disciplines were interviewed. The study findings point to (a) two perspectives from which the quality of MMR is understood, one contingent and flexible and the other universal and fixed; (b) a relationship between these two perspectives and the participants’ discipline; and (c) a similar occurrence, both in terms of nature and frequency, of the MMR quality criteria most mentioned by the participants across disciplines. Implications of the findings for the field of MMR are discussed.

We assessed how high school dropouts in Croatia interpret their school experiences and life circumstances, using semi-structured interviews of 20 young people, M ( SD) = 18.4 (1.23) years, 63.6% male, based on questions following a chronological life course from elementary to high school. Using qualitative content analysis and cluster analysis, we yielded a typology of high school dropouts. Four high school dropout types were identified based on the factors leading to dropout: (a) the poor academic achievers, (b) the quiet dropouts, (c) the maladjusted dropouts, and (d) the stressed dropouts. Our findings confirm the previously reported role of poor academic achievement and externalizing problems in high school dropout and additionally highlight the importance of internalizing problems and highly stressful life events for dropout risk.

While a growing number of works have been published about the use of mixed methods research in nursing, scarce attention has been devoted to the issue of the quality of mixed methods within the discipline. The quality appraisal of mixed methods research poses two problems to nursing science: first, current quality criteria are not nursing-specific and consequently, they might not facilitate the application of mixed methods research findings into nursing practice. Second, criteria were theoretically derived and as such, they might not faithfully account for the decisions that nurse researchers take when appraising mixed methods research studies. This qualitative, within-case study explored the views of nurse researchers about mixed methods research in general and, more specifically, the question of quality in mixed methods research. An international sample of 13 nurse researchers was interviewed via Skype and phone. Thematic analysis revealed that the participants favored universal, cross-disciplinary quality criteria, and not criteria specific to the nursing discipline, and a consensual and standardized approach to appraising the quality of mixed methods research. Recommendations are put forward to strengthen the quality appraisal of mixed methods research studies by nurse researchers, as well as future works on this topic within nursing science.

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