Elaborated integration of qualitative and quantitative perspectives in mixed methods research: a profound enquiry into the nurse practice environment

Integration of quantitative and qualitative components in mixed methods research deserves more discussion in the literature, as it is critical for quality research outcomes. This paper describes an elaborated integration of these two components in the context of an empirical research study about nursing practice environments (NPE). Different types of integration such as combining notions at research conceptualisation stage, mixing data collection methods and synthesising findings, are described to show how qualitative and quantitative components can work interdependently to reveal ‘what’ and ‘how’ components of the research phenomenon. For example, through application of elaborated integration, it was revealed that ‘concern for cost’ is a defining organisational characteristic of the current NPE. Additionally, we learnt about the ‘how’ component with the revelation of nurses’ belief that nurse administrators are acting with the intention of saving costs rather than enhancing quality of care. Therefore, this paper provides an empirical case of how to conduct integration of different components of mixed methods research with a great deal of depth, rationality and inquisitiveness.