ABSTRACT
Mixed methods research (MMR), a design in which quantitative and qualitative methods are combined within a single project, has been receiving increasing attention in the social sciences in recent years, with the publication of several handbooks (e.g., Bergman, 2008; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011; Greene, 2007; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2010) as well as the debut of a dedicated journal, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, in 2007. Researchers in applied linguistics and TESOL have also begun to consider the potential of MMR to expand and deepen understandings of the multilayered processes involved in L2 acquisition and teaching (e.g., Brown, 2014; Dörnyei, 2007; Hashemi, 2012; Hashemi & Babaii, 2013; Jang, Wagner, & Park, 2014; Riazi & Candlin, 2014). In a recent review of major applied linguistics journals, Hashemi and Babaii (2013) identified 205 articles published between 1995 and 2008 that employed some form of MMR design, while Riazi and Candlin’s (2014) more narrowly focused overview of language teaching research found 40 studies published between 2002 and 2011 that combined quantitative and qualitative methods to some degree.
