ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines common rationales for mixed methods research and identifies the importance of careful planning to undertake it. We argue researchers in outdoor studies must avoid reproduction of celebratory and simplistic rhetoric of mixed methods research as a panacea to shortcomings in any given data collection and analysis process. We support researchers in considering how different research methodologies present different ways of knowing and accompanying evaluation, quality and evidentiary criteria. The limitations of mixed methods designs are discussed in relation to pragmatic and logistic concerns as well as the difficulty of connecting methods that present different underlying philosophical assumptions.
