Mixing Methods in Systems Practice

In recent years much has been said about the benefits of creatively combining research methodologies. The argument has been widely rehearsed especially in the behavioural and social sciences where the virtues of the so-called 'mixed methods' research are widely advocated [1–7]. In the humanities interdisciplinary studies have become popular currency; elsewhere it is possible to detect a shift towards pluralistic thinking where scholars are now more inclined than previously to explore beyond the boundaries of traditionally favoured theories and paradigms, to look at how they might work together, and occasionally to suggest how they might be integrated at the meta-level.