In some studies, participants are assigned ethnographic or communicative tasks, such as field-work observation, life-story interviews, and photography. These studies usually involve in-person interaction, both for the participants doing the task and for the researchers in engaging with participants throughout the research process. Our study was…

In this case, I describe the "Paths on Life's Way (Paths)" project. The "Paths" project is the only longitudinal study of its kind in British Columbia and one of the few longitudinal studies in Canada. The research, now spanning 22 years-with a 28-year follow-up underway-is designed to provide a detailed examination of the life…

This case study describes the adoption of a mixed-methods approach to explore provision for 2-year-olds in England at a time when funding for free places for disadvantaged children became available. A literature review was carried out to find out about aspects of early childhood provision considered important for 2-year-old children's development,…

My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators--the people who teach teachers to teach. In this case study, I discuss my experience of using mixed methods: semistructured interviews, an online survey, and a focus group, with a community of teacher educators in the southeast of England. I wanted to identify the professional…

In December 2011, I was thrilled to embark on my first job in academia at the then Faculty of Health, Education and Society, Plymouth University. A few months later, I applied for my first small research grant with Janet Georgeson to undertake a research project on children's social interactions and friendships in the context of inclusion within…

Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre is a secondary day school academy in rural Kent. A New Philanthropy Capital's well-being survey in March 2014 highlighted questions about the well-being of high-attaining boys and, in particular, their satisfaction with their friendships. This longitudinal case study reports the use of both qualitative and…

Our research examines the effectiveness of intake variables used by a Canadian post-degree teacher education program over the period of 3 years to select candidates for entry into the program. Using a mixed-methods approach, we compared intake variables (grade point average, written response, work experience, reference letters, academic…

Triangulation is a commonly used term often associated with enhancing the validity of findings from your research study. In this case, we identify both the merits and challenges of drawing on multiple forms of triangulation, particularly when a mixed-methods design is a suitable methodology. We draw on our experiences with a mixed-methods research…

The gender achievement gap, where males demonstrate lower performance in academics, is not fully understood. This research was the first of its kind undertaken in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2012-2013. I employed a mixed-methods design for this research to reduce issues inherent in the use of each type of method, as well as to gather data…

From 2011 to 2013, I accidentally studied US and Canadian teacher perceptions of standardized testing and its effects in the classroom. I had intended to study the role of equity issues in teacher practice; however, in conversation with teachers during initial semi-structured interviews in the United States, it became clear that understanding the…

This case study focuses on a mixed-methods participatory project undertaken with young people in Northern Ireland. The project consisted of two main parts: (a) the 2010 Young Life and Times survey of 16-year olds and (b) a participatory follow-up project in which some of the Young Life and Times survey respondents were recruited as peer…