본 연구에서는 교육학 연구방법론에서 새롭게 대두하고 있는 통합연구방법이 무엇인지 그리고 통합연구방법에 대한 이론화가 어디까지 진행되고 있는지를 논의하고자 하였다. 이를 통해 통합연구방법(Mixed research methods)의 개념과 교육연구에서의 통합적 연구 설계를 하기 위하여 연구자가 알아야 하는 핵심적 지식에는 어떤 내용들이 있는지를 탐색하였다. 첫째, 통합연구방법의 개념과 그 의미에 대하여 논의하였다. 대표적인 통합연구방법 연구자들의 통합연구방법에 대한 정의들을 바탕으로 통합연구방법의 개념을 탐색하였으며, 그들의 연구와 다양한 저널의 통합연구방법과 관련된 내용을 살펴봄으로써 최근 연구 현황을 소개하였다. 둘째, Morse 모형, Cresweel & Plano Clark 모형, Tashakkori & Teddlie 모형을 중심으로 통합연구방법의 실제적인 모형들을 분석하였다. 셋째, 연구자들이 알아야 하는 통합연구 설계의 핵심적 과정과 방법적 지식에 대하여 연구문제 및 연구 설계 과정, 자료 수집의 과정, 자료 분석의 과정을 통해 자세히 소개하였다.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the meaning and implications of mixed research methods in education field. As an emerging research method, mixed research method has been acknowledged as alternative research method in education and other related fields such as nursing, social welfare, physical education, and management science. Under this academic situation, this paper deals with the overview and general issues of mixed research methods in relation to methodological perspectives. Its value and academic contribution seem to be influential because no any serious research on the topic has been attempted in Korean field. For this purpose, three major issues were discussed. First, the historical understandings on the emergence and definition of mixed research methods were described. Basic and essential knowledge to enhance the in-depth understanding on mixed research methods were provied on the basis of diverse references. Second, three models which are generally used for mixed research methods were introduced. They are as follows: (1) Morse model; (2) Creswel and Plano Clark model; and (3) Tashakkori and Teddlie model. Third, the procedural knowledge on the application of mixed research methods was discussed. Therefore, various issues and steps in designing mixed research methods in the following areas (research design, data collection, data analysis) were intensively discussed. Since mixed research method has not been heavily discussed in Korean education field, there is a hope that this new method will be used as alternative idea to complement the disadvangages of competing two research paradigms(quantitative research and qualitative research).