The Pathway Building Technique in Implementation Research Using Mixed Methods Design

Data integration refers to combining quantitative and qualitative data in mixed methods. It can be achieved through several integration procedures. The building integration procedure can be used for developing quantitative instruments by integrating data from the qualitative phase. There are limited examples of data integration using the building procedure in mixed methods and implementation science.

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how the pathway building technique can be used to integrate data in mixed methods research through concurrent use of implementation science models and frameworks.

This two pathway building technique was developed based on a mixed methods implementation project of developing implementation strategies to promote compassionate nursing care of complex patients.

The first pathway is the integration of qualitative data from the first phase of mixed methods study with implementation models and frameworks to create a quantitative instrument (i.e., a Q-sort survey) for the subsequent phase. The second pathway is the operationalization of the Q-sort survey results (i.e., implementation strategies) using an implementation science specification framework.

The pathway technique is valuable for mixed methods research and implementation science as it offers a theory-based innovative method to tackle integration challenge.