ABSTRACT
The usefulness of mixed methods research for solving complex societal issues is well established; yet, researchers lack practical guidance equipping them for conditions of higher complexity. This chapter advances a complexity-sensitive approach to integration to guide mixed methods researchers in managing the complex conditions surrounding many pressing societal issues. The first part of the chapter describes the continuum of complexity in the research conditions and some of the dilemmas faced by researchers managing the uncertain nature and unknowable solutions typical of highly complex mixed methods research conditions. The second part advances the complexity principles transforming five mixed methods research practices for responding appropriately to changeable conditions. Woven throughout the chapter are discussions of a published study example illustrating the importance of recognizing, describing, and adapting to surrounding research conditions. The chapter concludes with the third part: a discussion of key theoretical and practical implications for mixed methods research that recognize the connections between complex conditions and integrative thinking. Readers of this chapter will learn about: (a) applying four principles of complexity science as a theoretical framework to mixed methods integration, (b) distinguishing mixed methods studies along a complexity continuum of research conditions, (c) applying a complexity lens for informing new ways of thinking about integration, and (d) using five adaptive practices to generate integration evidence.
