Mixed Methods in Gerontological Research: Do the Qualitative and Quantitative Data “Touch”?

Abstract

This paper distinguishes between parallel and integrated mixed methods research approaches. Barriers to integrated mixed methods approaches in gerontological research are discussed and critiqued. The author presents examples of mixed methods gerontological research to illustrate approaches to data integration at the levels of data analysis, interpretation, and research reporting. As a summary of the methodological literature, four basic levels of mixed methods data combination are proposed. Opportunities for mixing qualitative and quantitative data are explored using contemporary examples from published studies. Data transformation and visual display, judiciously applied, are proposed as pathways to fuller mixed methods data integration and analysis. Finally, practical strategies for mixing qualitative and quantitative data types are explicated as gerontological research moves beyond parallel mixed methods approaches to achieve data integration. Investigations in geriatrics and gerontology frequently focus on complex circumstances of interaction (e.g., caregiving) and are often conducted in complicated systems (e.g., families or nursing homes) that lend well to mixed methods approaches. Mixed methods research approaches have been evolving over the last 50 years with recent attention and interest in mixed

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