Mixed‐methods research in medical education
Lessons from a meta‐study of methodological practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17620065 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jennifer Cleland (0000-0003-1433-9323, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Nanyang Technological University Singapore, corresponding author), Alan Macleod (0000-0002-0939-7767, Department of Continuing Professional Development and Medical Education Dalhousie University Halifax Nova Scotia Canada), Susan van Schalkwyk (0000-0003-1596-6791, Department of Health Professions Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa), Rachel Ellaway (0000-0002-3759-6624, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary Calgary Alberta Canada) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medical Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-0110 • E-ISSN: 1365-2923 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/medu.70177 |
| PMID | 41578712 |
| OpenAlex | W7125596009 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 73 |
INTRODUCTION: Mixed-methods research (MMR) intentionally combines (variously) theories, study designs, data collection, analyses and/or syntheses associated with more than one approach to research. Despite a rich literature on the theory and practice of MMR, the authors were concerned that much MMR in medical education fell short of the state of the art. To substantiate the problem, the authors conducted a meta-study to explore the strengths and weaknesses of MMR in medical education and to propose a framework to improve the conduct and reporting of this research design. METHODS: Structured searches were conducted, and returns were filtered based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, establishing a corpus of 1070 articles. A series of purposive samples was taken from this corpus and put through full data extraction. The findings from these extractions were synthesized using descriptive statistics and a dialogical identification of core issues of concern. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics were produced for the full corpus, after which a series of samples led to 547 (51%) articles undergoing full data extraction. There was a significant increase in the number of articles reporting the use of MMR in the last 20 years. Several recurring issues were identified including a lack of theoretical and conceptual grounding in MMR, a lack of diversity in what constitutes MMR, questionable component rigour, a lack of integration (mixing), a tension between MMR as more than one thing and MMR as a methodology in its own right, and very little adaptation and innovation in MMR approaches. These issues had not improved over time. DISCUSSION: Major gaps in how MMR was justified and used were found. Integration, central to MMR, was notably lacking. Thus, the authors propose a checklist to help researchers and reviewers ensure that future use of MMR in medical education is more rigorous, transparent, complete and accurate
Checklist · Clinical Practice · Educational measurement · Medical practice · MEDLINE · Research methodology · E-Learning and COVID-19 · Health Policy Implementation Science · Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
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Iterative Thematic Inquiry
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |