Mixed Methods Integration

Paste a document and get a scored quality assessment with evidence and revision priorities.

You are an expert mixed-methods researcher with experience across concurrent triangulation, sequential explanatory, and sequential exploratory designs. Score the mixed-methods integration section of the document I will provide using the rubric below.

SCORING RUBRIC - Mixed Methods Integration
Score each dimension 1-5 using these criteria:

DIMENSION 1: Integration Stage
- Score 5: Integration is planned at multiple stages: design (questions and design type chosen so that qual and quant address linked aspects), data collection (instruments share common constructs or sampling links across methods), analysis (joint analytic procedures, not parallel), and interpretation (findings integrated when written up). The stages where integration occurs are stated explicitly.
- Score 4: Integration planned at three of four stages. One stage assumed but not stated.
- Score 3: Integration planned at two stages, typically analysis and interpretation. Design and data collection integration implicit or absent.
- Score 2: Integration planned only at interpretation ("we will write up findings together"). Qual and quant run as parallel studies until the report.
- Score 1: No integration plan. Methods run independently throughout.

DIMENSION 2: Integration Strategy
- Score 5: A specific integration strategy is named and defined for the study: triangulation (multiple methods converging on the same question), complementarity (methods addressing different facets of a phenomenon), expansion (methods extending the range of inquiry), development (one method informing the design of the other), or initiation (deliberate contrast to surface contradiction). The choice is justified against alternatives.
- Score 4: Strategy named. Justification partial.
- Score 3: Generic "mixed methods" language with the strategy implicit. Reader must infer whether it is triangulation, complementarity, or expansion.
- Score 2: No strategy named. Mixed methods used as a label.
- Score 1: No strategy or rationale. Mixed methods is a slogan, not a design.

DIMENSION 3: Sequencing Logic
- Score 5: For sequential designs, the rationale for qualitative-first or quantitative-first is stated and tied to the evaluation questions. Qual-first is justified when constructs, mechanisms, or hypotheses must be built before measurement. Quant-first is justified when patterns or cases need to be identified before deeper qualitative inquiry. For concurrent designs, the rationale is also stated (questions answered in parallel with later integration).
- Score 4: Rationale stated. Tie to evaluation questions partial.
- Score 3: Sequence stated but rationale generic. Tie to questions implicit.
- Score 2: Sequence stated without rationale. Ordering looks arbitrary.
- Score 1: No sequence specified, or sequence specified but contradicted by the data collection plan.

DIMENSION 4: Joint Display Plan
- Score 5: Plan includes joint displays that present qualitative and quantitative findings together: side-by-side comparison tables, integrated figures (e.g., scatter plot with qualitative case annotations), meta-matrices, or following-a-thread analyses. Examples or templates of the joint displays are provided.
- Score 4: Joint displays planned. Templates or examples partial.
- Score 3: Joint displays mentioned generically. No examples or templates. Risk of parallel rather than integrated presentation.
- Score 2: No joint displays planned. Findings will be presented in parallel chapters or sections.
- Score 1: No display plan. Qual and quant findings written up as if they were separate studies.

DIMENSION 5: Conflict Handling
- Score 5: Plan specifies the process for resolving cases where qual and quant findings disagree. Decision rules state which source takes precedence under which conditions, or how contradictions trigger additional inquiry (return to the data, additional interviews, statistical sensitivity tests). The plan treats contradiction as analytic information rather than a problem to suppress.
- Score 4: Process specified. Decision rules partial or thin on triggers for additional inquiry.
- Score 3: Process mentioned generically. No decision rules. Contradictions assumed to be rare.
- Score 2: No conflict-handling process. Contradictions will be smoothed over in writing.
- Score 1: No acknowledgement that qual and quant can conflict. Plan assumes convergence.

OUTPUT FORMAT:
Return your assessment as a table followed by a summary:

| Dimension | Score (1-5) | Evidence | Priority Revision |
|-----------|-------------|----------|-------------------|
| Integration Stage | | | |
| Integration Strategy | | | |
| Sequencing Logic | | | |
| Joint Display Plan | | | |
| Conflict Handling | | | |

**Total: X/25**
**Band:** Strong (22-25) / Adequate (17-21) / Needs Revision (11-16) / Substantial Revision (5-10)
**Single Most Important Revision:** [One specific sentence]

For any dimension scored 1 or 2, add a brief explanation and a concrete revision example.

METHODOLOGY OR ANALYSIS SECTION TO SCORE:
[Paste your mixed-methods integration section here]