Mixed methods studies in design practice and suggestions for business and management research

Insights from other disciplines and less siloed research may enrich the interpretation and application of mixed methods research (MMR) in business and management. This prevalence study sets out to a) determine how frequently design researchers used MMR in the journal Design Studies for the period 2014 to 2020 and b) what the mix of these methods were and c) the most frequently used methods and their combinations.
Results show that MMR was the most frequently used of the research methodologies employed. The three-method mix was the most used, with experiments/quasi experimental, case studies and semi-structured interviews the most frequently used combination. The second most popular was the two-methods mix using case studies and experimental/quasi experimental methods.
Protocol analysis, which is a qualitative-based quantitative data collection method emerged from this study and should be considered a valuable tool as part of business and management MMR and the development of practice-based theory.