Application of Mixed Methods for International and Cross-Cultural Research

Consider the notion of context (i.e., a specific setting or set of circumstances) when engaged in (a) international and/or cross-cultural school psychology research, (b) implementing a psychosocial intervention across different cultures, or (c) when making policy recommendations to different governments at local and national levels. It is well established that these sorts of efforts should account for context; for example, the American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (2006) defines Evidence-Based Practice as “the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context [emphasis added] of patient characteristics, culture, and preference” (p. 273). This chapter addresses the use of mixed methods research (i.e., using both qualitative and quantitative inquiry within the same study) for conducting cross-cultural and international school psychology research. The authors summarize the concepts—culture, cultural-specificity, cultural construction, and intersectionality—and then describe how reflexivity, mixed methods ethnography, and integration can be used to pursue school psychology research in international and cross-cultural settings.