Developing mixed methods research in sport and exercise psychology: Critical reflections on five points of controversy

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Objectives: To stimulate debate in sport and exercise psychology about the nature of mixed methods research as currently practiced and how this approach might develop in the future. Design: An exploration of five points of controversy relating to mixed methods research. Method: A presentation of critical reflections on the following. (1) Mixing methods as a non-debate, (2) Purists, pragmatists and mixing paradigms, (3) Integrating findings and representational forms, (4) Judgment criteria and mixed methods research, and (5) Power, politics and what counts in mixed methods research. Results: The examples provided of mixed methods research in action indicate that a number of problematic issues regarding both process and product have been neglected. Conclusions: Mixed methods research offers a number of conceptual, practical and pedagogical challenges that need to be addressed if this form of inquiry is to develop its full potential in sport and exercise psychology.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.08.014