This article presents an innovative sequential mixed methods approach to researching the experiences of U.K. adults with chronic health conditions seeking health information online. The use of multiple methods integrated within a single study ensured that the focus of the research was emergent and relevant and ultimately provided a more complete picture of the experience of online health information seeking through joint discussion. This was achieved by communicating both breadth and depth of data relating to the phenomenon. Findings indicate that if the study had used a single research method in isolation, something would have been lost or misunderstood regarding the phenomenon, thus demonstrating the value of each stage within the research design and of the integration of these findings.
AroraN. K.McHorneyC. A. (2000). Patient preferences for medical decision making: Who really wants to participate?Medical Care, 38, 335-341.
2.
BelcherV. N.FriedT. R.AgostiniJ. V.TinettiM. E. (2006). Views of older adults on patient participation in medication-related decision making. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, 298-303.
3.
CottenS. R.GuptaS. S. (2004). Characteristics of online and offline health information seekers and factors that discriminate between them. Social Science & Medicine, 59, 1795-1806.
4.
CresswellJ. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
5.
EysenbachG. (2000). Consumer health informatics. British Medical Journal, 320, 1713-1716.
GiorgiA. (1985). Sketch of a psychological phenomenological method. In GiorgiA. (Ed.), Phenomenology and psychological research (pp. 8-22). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
8.
GiorgiA. (2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Huessrlian approach. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
9.
GiorgiA.GiorgiB. (2004). The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. In CamicP. M.RhodesJ. E.YerdleyL. (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 243-273). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
10.
GreeneJ.CaracelliV.GrahamW. (1989). Toward a conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation design. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11, 255-274.
11.
GubaE. G. (1990). The alternative paradigm dialog. In GubaE. G. (Ed.), The paradigm dialog (pp. 17-30). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
12.
HoweK. R. (1988). Against the quantitative-qualitative incompatibility thesis or dogmas die hard. Educational Researcher, 17, 10-16.
13.
IvankovaN. V.CreswellJ. W.StickS. L. (2006). Using mixed-methods sequential explanatory design: From theory to practice. Field Methods, 18, 3-20.
14.
MorganD. L. (1998). Practical strategies for combining qualitative and quantitative methods: Applications to health research. Qualitative Health Research, 8, 362-376.
15.
MorseJ. M. (1991). Approaches to qualitative-quantitative methodological triangulation. Nursing Research, 40, 120-123.
16.
MorseJ. M. (2003). Principles of mixed method and multimethod research design. In TasakkoriA.TeddlieC. (Eds.), Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research (pp. 189-208). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
O’CathainA. (2009). Editorial: Mixed methods research in the health sciences—A quiet revolution. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 3(1), 3-6.
SaleJ. E. M.LohfeldL. H.BrazilK. (2002). Revisiting the quantitative-qualitative debate: Implications for mixed-methods research. Quality & Quantity, 36, 43-53.
20.
TashakkoriA.TeddlieC. B. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21.
TashakkoriA.TeddlieC. (2008). Quality of inferences in mixed methods research: Calling for an integrative framework. In BergmanM. M. (Ed.), Advances in mixed methods research (pp. 101-119). London, England: Sage.
