Mixed methods research intervention studies, which integrate quantitative evaluation approaches with qualitative research, have attracted growing attention in recent years in the field of health sciences. However, the extent to which mixed methods research studies have been properly implemented in social and educational sciences has been little explored. The GenTIC research team, including Sergi Fàbregues, Milagros Sáinz, María José Romano and Beatriz López-Pérez, in collaboration with Elsa Lucia Escalante-Barrios (Universidad del Norte) and Ahtisham Younas (Memorial University of Newfoundland), have addressed this question in a new article published in Frontiers in Psychology that examines the methodological characteristics and reporting practices of intervention studies aimed at increasing young people’s interest in STEM.

 

The authors carried out a systematic search of peer-reviewed articles in several databases, including APA PsycNET, ERIC, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science, and a manual search in 20 journals. To synthesize the results, qualitative content analysis and ideal-type analysis were used to ascertain whether the added value of MMR is being realized in STEM-related interventions and whether the methodological limitations associated with MMR intervention designs in the health sciences also exist in this field.

 

Findings show an increase in the publication of MMR studies of interventions aimed at stimulating youth interest in STEM, with more than half of these studies published since 2016. The authors conclude that, despite the generally good reporting quality of the reviewed studies, some room for improvement is observed in aspects such as the description of the type of MMR design used, the explanation of the procedures in the qualitative component, and the use of joint displays for the systematic and visual representation of integration.

 

This article is part of the research project GESTEMI, led by Milagros Sáinz and funded by MINECO-AEI-ERDF (Ref.: FEM2017-84589-R). From 2018 until 2022, GESTEMI has analysed the effects and effectiveness of interventions oriented to improve and increase the interest of girls in scientific and technological subjects and occupations.

 

Find the article available in open access in Frontiers in Psychology.

 

Reference:

Fàbregues, S. [Sergi], Sáinz, M. [Milagros], Romano, M. J. [María José], Escalante-Barrios, E. L. [Elsa Lucía], Younas, A. [Ahtisham], & López-Pérez, B-S. [Beatriz-Soledad] (2023). Use of mixed methods research in intervention studies to increase young people’s interest in STEM: A systematic methodological review. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.956300

 

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