A Systematic Review of Research Questions in Mixed Methods Studies in Instructional Design
Zahira Husseinali Merchant 1 * , Ayesha Sadaf 2, Larisa Olesova 3, Tong Wu 2
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1 Department of Equity, Leadership Studies, and Instructional Technologies, San Francisco State University, USA2 Department of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina Charlotte, USA3 Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, George Mason University, USA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Researchers’ reliance on using mixed methods for in-depth understanding of a phenomenon is on a rise. This review provides a synthesis of studies using Mixed Methods Research (MMR) approach in the field of instructional design, with a particular focus on research questions. The results show that of the 752 articles published on MMR in the instructional design field, only 80 studies framed the research questions that were consistent with the practice of MMR. Of those 80 studies, findings revealed that experimental research questions and descriptive research questions were the most popular types of research questions used. Furthermore, the MMR articles were published in multiple (n=59) peer-reviewed journals are mostly in higher education (44%) and K-12 settings (42.5%). Although, there is a steady increase in the application MMR with the highest number of studies published in 2018 (29%) and 2017 (25%), the number of articles that accurately frame research questions were very low. This study revealed a need to build instructional design researchers’ ability to use MMR questions in their studies. This report suggests optimal ways to develop research questions that are grounded in the fundamental principles of MMR.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

PEDAGOGICAL RES, Volume 6, Issue 4, October 2021, Article No: em0107

https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/11282

Publication date: 20 Oct 2021

Article Views: 1698

Article Downloads: 1474

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