Utilizing Mixed Methods in Psychological Research

Historically, psychological research has relied heavily on experimental and quasi-experimental studies collecting and analyzing numeric data. When/if narrative or other unstructured data (e.g., videos, observations, field notes) have been collected, they have been analyzed quantitatively by converting them to numeric indicators. This is still evident in current publications (including this Handbook ) and dissertations. Psychological research has also been predominantly hypothesis-oriented, following a process of predicting possible outcomes (relationships, behaviors, etc.) on the basis of literature and/or theories, testing these hypotheses, and making adjustments in theoretical frameworks based on these results. A similar trend is also observable in evaluations of quality in clinical research (for an example, see Tayler & Asmundson, 2008) or other studies using unstructured interviews, observations, and artifacts. Although a purely positivistic approach is rare to see in portrayals of psychological research, it is helpful to recognize its impacts. The positivist paradigm advocated the presence of objective and discernable realities, leading to the belief that human behavior was predictable from its antecedents, and that distinct causes were identifiable