A Call for Expanding Philosophical Perspectives to Create a More “Worldly” Field of Mixed Methods: The Example of Yinyang Philosophy

Abstract

In this editorial, we briefly review a series of worldviews that have been articulated to support mixed methods inquiry that emerged partially in response to the paradigm wars in mixed methods. While emphasizing their value, we also note the articulated philosophies largely reflect North American and European thought. Worldviews from other regions of the world remain noticeably absent from discussions about the philosophical underpinnings of mixed methods. After a sabbatical teaching and conducting research in China, one of us (MDF) experienced firsthand the potential and relevance for yinyang philosophy to render mixed methods understandable and to feel more accessible to an Asian audience. Here, we introduce how yinyang philosophy adds a novel perspective for unifying qualitative and quantitative research as a value-added ''mixed methods whole.'' Finally, we make a call for scholars around the world to consider their own unique cultural traditions and thinking, and introduce these worldviews to the global mixed methods community. North American and European Worldviews Supporting Mixed Methods Research The flurry of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research editorials about paradigms in the first decade of publication in the field of mixed methods (Molina-Azorin & Fetters, 2017) alludes to the critical role and value of the identification of philosophical underpinnings to ground the field and the dialogue continues (Shannon-Baker, 2016). Early on, pragmatism emerged as a worldview to unify the use of qualitative and quantitative work (Biesta, 2010; Feilzer, 2010; Morgan, 2007). In fact, in the 2003 Handbook on Mixed Methods in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Tashakkori and Teddlie indicated that 13 major scholars in the field had embraced pragmatism as the foundational philosophy behind mixed methods research. Mertens (2007) led in the articulation of a transformative/emancipatory paradigm. Maxwell and Mittapalli (2010) provided critical realism as another option for unifying mixed methods. Hesse-Biber and Kelly (2010) illustrate application and fit of mixed methods and postmodernism. A dialectic stance introduced by Greene and Hall (2010) and further expounded as dialectical pluralism as a metaparadigm (Johnson, 2017) provided a position for utilizing different philosophical perspectives together. To this list, Schoonenboom (2017) has now added the performative paradigm, and

“Fractal Heuristics” for Mixed Methods Research: Applying Abbott’s “Fractal Distinctions” as a Conceptual Metaphor for Method Integration

“…I argue that a common dimension underlying all of those distinctions is that of ''conventional'' (integration as connection of methods) versus ''recombinational'' (integration as reconfiguration or merging of methods) mixing. Note that I am referring to the integration of methods approaches here, as described in the ''integration trilogy'' by Fetters and Molina-Azorin (2019), not the mere combination of different data types.…”

“…While dialectical approaches tend to focus on the differences between monomethod approaches, the concept of Yinyang philosophy (Fetters & Molina-Azorin, 2019) highlights difference-within. Similar to the fractal heuristic, the Yinyang symbolism creates ''wholeness'' through highlighting self-difference in each of the respective parts of a whole.…”

“…The fractal metaphor shares strong similarities with other methodological concepts seeking to combine opposites, including dialectical perspectives on MMR, the application of Yinyang philosophy to method integration (Fetters & Molina-Azorin, 2019), and concepts from feminist theory, namely ''diffraction'' (Uprichard & Dawney, 2019) and ''postoppositionality'' (Keating, 2013). I discuss these conceptual resemblances in the penultimate section.…”

Virtual Special Issue on “Paradigms in Mixed Methods Research”

“…In the most recent of the editorials featured in this virtual special issue, Fetters and Molina-Azorin (2019) drew attention to the Western-centric nature of the previous scholarship about paradigms. They contended that the debate about worldviews supporting mixed methods research largely reflected North American and European thought.…”

In This Issue: Integration Interrogations, Visual Replay Methodology, Mixed Methods Training, Health Policy, and Health Services Illustrations of Mixed Methods Research

“…In our editorial titled ''A Call for Expanding Philosophical Perspectives to Create a More 'Worldly' Mixed Methods: The Example of Yinyang Philosophy'' (Fetters & Molina-Azorin, 2019b), we highlight how North American and European worldviews have predominated in the discourse about the philosophical underpinnings of mixed methods research. Citing yinyang philosophy as an Asian example, we invite the world mixed methods community to identify and articulate relevance of other philosophies and worldviews to mixed methods research.…”