Methods Braiding: A Technique for Arts-Based and Mixed-Methods Research

Abstract

This article introduces a technique for doing mixed-methods research which I term the methods braiding technique. Contributing to established techniques for mixing methods across and within the quantitative and qualitative spectra, methods braiding incorporates arts-based research considerations. This aims to assist the growing number of researchers seeking to incorporate creative methods into their projects and add to established integrative, iterative, and synergistic approaches with insights from arts-based research. The methods braiding technique offers three main strengths. First, it assists researchers with cultivating reflexivity through periodic process reviews. Second, methods braiding helps researchers engage with the potentially divergent conceptual foundations of mixed-methods projects; by framing ‘mixing’ as a braiding process, this technique emphasises the synergistic integration of methods, analysis, and interpretation. Finally, and especially valuable for projects using arts-based methods, this technique centralises the crafting of multiple research outputs throughout the duration of a project. The use of this technique is illustrated via an example of a project in which a sociological fiction novel is constructed.