Medical Care Research Unit, School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Regent Street, Sheffield, UK.
BMC Med Res Methodol. 2009 Dec 9;9:82. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-9-82.
Health researchers undertake studies which combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Little attention has been paid to the structural issues affecting this mixed methods approach. We explored the facilitators and barriers to undertaking mixed methods studies in health research.
Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 20 researchers experienced in mixed methods research in health in the United Kingdom.
Structural facilitators for undertaking mixed methods studies included a perception that funding bodies promoted this approach, and the multidisciplinary constituency of some university departments. Structural barriers to exploiting the potential of these studies included a lack of education and training in mixed methods research, and a lack of templates for reporting mixed methods articles in peer-reviewed journals. The 'hierarchy of evidence' relating to effectiveness studies in health care research, with the randomised controlled trial as the gold standard, appeared to pervade the health research infrastructure. Thus integration of data and findings from qualitative and quantitative components of mixed methods studies, and dissemination of integrated outputs, tended to occur through serendipity and effort, further highlighting the presence of structural constraints. Researchers are agents who may also support current structures - journal reviewers and editors, and directors of postgraduate training courses - and thus have the ability to improve the structural support for exploiting the potential of mixed methods research.
The environment for health research in the UK appears to be conducive to mixed methods research but not to exploiting the potential of this approach. Structural change, as well as change in researcher behaviour, will be necessary if researchers are to fully exploit the potential of using mixed methods research.
健康研究人员开展结合定性和定量方法的研究。很少有人关注影响这种混合方法方法的结构问题。我们探讨了在健康研究中进行混合方法研究的促进因素和障碍。
对英国 20 名在健康混合方法研究方面经验丰富的研究人员进行面对面的半结构化访谈。
进行混合方法研究的结构促进因素包括一种观念，即资助机构提倡这种方法，以及一些大学院系的多学科组成。利用这些研究潜力的结构障碍包括缺乏混合方法研究的教育和培训，以及同行评审期刊中混合方法文章报告缺乏模板。与医疗保健研究中有效性研究相关的“证据层次结构”，以随机对照试验为黄金标准，似乎贯穿于健康研究基础设施。因此，混合方法研究中定性和定量部分的数据和发现的整合，以及综合产出的传播，往往是偶然发生的，这进一步突出了结构约束的存在。研究人员是可能支持当前结构的代理人——期刊评审员和编辑，以及研究生培训课程的主任——因此，有能力改善利用混合方法研究潜力的结构支持。
英国的健康研究环境似乎有利于混合方法研究，但不利于利用这种方法的潜力。如果研究人员要充分利用混合方法研究的潜力，就需要进行结构变革以及研究人员行为的变革。
