2026-11-25 –, Drawing Room
Mixed methods research is often portrayed as a straightforward, step-by-step procedure, yet this portrayal overlooks the real-world challenges of fieldwork and the ethical and responsive approaches needed to address them. This can leave novice researchers ill-prepared to navigate the realities of fieldwork. Drawing on fieldwork with smallholder farmers experiencing heat stress in Northern Ghana, this paper introduces “fieldwork frictions” to describe disruptions arising from farm activities, positionality and local uncertainties. Rather than treating these frictions as methodological failures, it argues that they are integral to the research process — actively shaping how knowledge is produced and challenging the assumed linearity of an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. An ethnography-inspired approach demonstrates how engaging with these frictions can enhance the contextualisation of quantitative findings and deepen qualitative inquiry, better capturing field realities. Recognising these frictions also sheds light on power dynamics inherent in research with vulnerable smallholder farmers. The paper offers three practical methodological lessons for novice researchers: treat fieldwork frictions as opportunities for insight rather than obstacles; remain reflexive and flexible, adapting ethically as needed rather than adhering rigidly to the original blueprint; and, where possible, incorporate ethnography-inspired insights to enhance contextual sensitivity and integration across mixed methods. This approach enhances the rigour of mixed methods research by producing insights firmly grounded in a specific field context.
Joseph Alhassan is a PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. His research examines the impacts of climate change, with a focus on heat stress among smallholder farmers and their adaptive responses in Northern Ghana.