Editorial: Mapping the Field of Mixed Methods Research

The intent of this editorial is to advance my list of topics currently being discussed in the field of mixed methods research. As one who has been involved in the mixed methods field since its beginning 20 years ago, I have some sense of the topics that have evolved and that hold center stage in mixed methods discussions. Furthermore, as one of the founding coeditors of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research (JMMR; and outgoing editor after June 2009), I have been privileged to have examined close to 300 manuscripts submitted to the journal in the past 3 years, and I have taken notes on what I have seen as potential contributions of these manuscripts to the field of mixed methods research. My discussion will first address why we, as researchers, need a map of the field at this current time. Then I will advance a list of 30 topics that are being discussed today in the mixed methods literature. To crosscheck the accuracy of my list, I will reflect on the topics that were discussed last summer at the 2008 Mixed Methods Conference at Cambridge University, UK. I will note differences and similarities between the papers presented at the conference and my list. Then I will select four topics from my list, discuss the development of the topics, and note recent insightful contributions that have emerged in the literature. Finally, I will end with some thoughts about the future of mixed methods research. I hope that by reading this editorial you will learn how one individual constructs the field of mixed methods today, obtain a glimpse into what topics current writers presented at the Mixed Methods Conference last July, and assess how your mixed methods manuscript might make a contribution to the field.