Overview

Editors:

Roslyn Cameron, Southern Cross University (Australia) and

José F. Molina-Azorín, University of Alicante (Spain)

Contributions are invited to a special issue of the International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches (IJMRA) dedicated to Mixed Methods in Business and Management Research.

Many research fields have adopted and accepted mixed methodologies, such as: Education; Evaluation; Sociology; Health Sciences; Nursing and Psychology. In these fields, books about mixed methods are edited, studies using this approach are published in discipline based journals (sometimes in special issues devoted to this type of research), and literature reviews on the use and application of mixed methods research are carried out. However, the application of mixed methods research in Business and Management has seldom been studied.

Management is a diverse field with many disciplines represented which draw upon an array of theoretical foundations and frameworks. This range and diversity in Management research is reflected in a similar diverse range of research approaches employed. The use of multiple theoretical foundations, the diverse scope, range and complexity and trans-disciplinary nature of Business and Management research, all contribute to an impetus for the utilization of mixed methods in this field. A major premise behind the use of mixed methods is that it can provide more insight and a deeper understanding of the phenomenon being studied than a single method.

The issue will address relevant issues with regard to the use of mixed methods research in Business and Management research, specifically when, why and how this methodological approach is adopted in these fields.

The issue would like to invite papers on epistemology in business and management domains, examples of studies combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in Business and Management research, advantages in using a mixed methods approach in these fields, problems and challenges in integrating various research approaches, and theoretical and practical implications of conducting mixed methods research in business and management research.

The issue would also like to explore the experiences of those referred to by Creswell, Tashakkori, Jensen and Shapley (2003) as the 'first generation' of faculty that master and teach mixed methods research. Submissions are encouraged from 'first generation' business and management mixed methods researchers who are teaching mixed methods within business and management schools and the challenges they face in introducing mixed methods into institutional- and faculty-based mainstream research capacity-building and training.

Submissions are also invited from those engaged in commercial and privately funded research who are utilising mixed methods in the commercial research world or those applying new and innovative approaches to mixed methods research.

Work may be submitted - in the format of a literature review, research note or research article - for the following parts:

Section 1: Epistemological Background for Research in Business and Management

• Historical and philosophical perspectives related to quantitative and qualitative approaches
• Conflict or compatibility?

Queries and abstracts to: José F. Molina-Azorín: jf.molina@ua.es

Section 2: Multiple Approaches in Empirical Studies

Examples of empirical studies that have integrated quantitative and qualitative methods, emphasizing:

• Rationales and purposes for conducting a mixed methods study
• Design typologies
• Priority of the quantitative and qualitative parts (equivalent or different status)
• Implementation of data collection (sequential, concurrent, embedded or fused/blended) 
• Levels of integration achieved

Queries and abstracts to: José F. Molina-Azorín: jf.molina@ua.es

Section 3: Challenges and Emerging Issues

• Analytical issues
• Design issues
• Quality reporting in mixed methods
• The politics of publishing mixed methods
• Teaching mixed methods in business and management schools

Queries and abstracts to: Roslyn Cameron: roslyn.cameron@scu.edu.au

Section 4: Literature reviews of the Use and Application of Mixed Methods Research in specific areas within Business and Management Research

For example in: Organizational Behaviour, Strategy, Human Resources Management, Marketing, Finance, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Sustainability and Social Issues in Management, Accounting, Management Education and Development, Leadership, International Business, Knowledge Management, Operations Management...

Queries and abstracts to: either Roslyn Cameron: roslyn.cameron@scu.edu.au or José F. Molina-Azorín: jf.molina@ua.es

Section 5: Innovation at the Nexus between Research and Practice

• Innovative research designs and data collection methods
• Use of contemporary technologies in mixed methods
• Sophisticated and complex research designs
• Mixed methods in the commercial world of research
• New software applications in mixed methods data collection and integration

Queries and abstracts to: Roslyn Cameron: roslyn.cameron@scu.edu.au

Conclusion: What we know about Mixed Methods Research in Business and Management Research

Each section will include an invited Editorial of about 1000 words and 3-4 articles of strictly 6000-8000 words.

Contact

In advance of manuscript submission, abstracts are invited to be sent to the Editors by 1 August 2010.

Any queries regarding the special issue may be addressed to either: José F. Molina-Azorín at: jf.molina@ua.es or Roslyn Cameron at: rolsyn.cameron@scu.edu.au  

Exemplars

Please see the following articles which may be considered appropriate examples for this issue:

Cameron R (2009) A sequential mixed model research design: design, analytical and display issues, International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 140-152.

Molina-Azorin  J (2009) Understanding how mixed methods research is undertaken within a specific research community: the case of business studies, International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 47-57.