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ABSTRACT
Educational research teams are increasingly recognized as an optimal configuration for addressing more complex mixed methods research problems; however, their development is often approached as a conventional research collaboration rather than an integrative one. An approach informed by complexity theory provides the practical guidance for studying mixed methods research teams as complex adaptive systems with the capacity for generating novel educational research outcomes greater than the sum of individual contributions alone. In this paper, I advance a complexity-sensitive strategy through which to realize the integrative capacity of educational mixed methods research teams comprising of four interrelated elements: membership, contributions, interactions, and performance. These elements embody amalgamations from a decade of my readings of the literature and real-life professional experience. Each element is examined in light of the three key concepts of complex adaptive systems to describe the necessary conditions for emergence, influential challenges illustrating interdependency, and desirable individual and team adaptations. The study’s theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Adrienne Montgomerie and Alexandra Aquilina to the finalizing of this paper. She also recognizes the work of the guest editors of the special mixed methods issue of the International Journal of Research & Method in Education and reviewers for their suggestions that enhanced the final manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.