Project management principles for optimizing publication productivity of mixed methods studies

Abstract

Mixed methods research is increasingly valued, although little attention has been placed on how to execute such projects well to achieve optimal publication for impact. Multiple publications from a single study allow scholars to explicate findings that cannot be contained in a single article and which address different aspects of study findings. This article contributes to the fields of mixed methods research by building on their roots in pragmatism, which we argue calls for effective research studies resulting in published findings. This article proposes a project management framework and describes how to optimize mixed methods manuscript production during each of 5 research phases. We describe lessons learned from project management and implementation of our own mixed methods projects to help research teams build quality projects with optimal publication outputs and impact.