Background and rationale:
In September and October 2023, an EvalForward discussion was organized to gather practical experiences and lessons on the use of mixed methods (MM) in evaluation. The resulting summary drew on 27 contributions, selected publications shared by participants, and methodological reflections illuminated many areas. The discussion confirmed the broad recognition of the value of combining qualitative (QL) and quantitative (QN) methods. However, it also identified an important gap between describing an evaluation as “mixed methods” and implementing a genuinely integrated MM evaluation.
A particularly important finding was that contributors provided relatively few practical examples of integrated MM analysis.The discussion therefore concluded that evaluators need more concrete guidance on how to move from parallel qualitative and quantitative workstreams to coherent MM meta-inferences and conclusions. Literature identifies integration as a defining feature of MM, rather than the mere presence of QL and QN data in the same study.
Purpose: The webinar will provide a practice-oriented space for evaluation commissioners, managers and practitioners to examine what constitutes quality in mixed-methods evaluations and how quality criteria can be built into evaluation design, implementation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. Objectives By the end of the webinar, participants should be able to (i) assess/share how quality in the rationale, design, sequencing, priority and integration are articulated and (ii) recognise/share common threats to /boosts of credibility of MM evaluation findings and conclusions