Chapter 3: Unpacking the Barriers and Finding Solutions for Successful Mixed Research Studies in Stress and Coping Research and Beyond

The popularity of mixed methods research (from here on referred to as “mixed research”) has increased over the past few years (Johnson & On- wuegbuzie, 2004). Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, and Turner (2007) have provided a comprehensive definition of mixed research:

In the area of stress and coping, some authors have stated that the research is not rigorous (Coyne & Racioppo, 2000; Somerfield & McCrae, 2000). In fact, some researchers have identified a lack of consistency of findings in stress and coping research (Delongis & Holtzman, 2005; Pta- cek & Pierce, 2003). One approach to increase the rigor of the results and interpretations in stress and coping research would be to utilize mixed research designs (Johnson et al., 2007).