The Mixed Methods-Lab (M&M-Lab) is an initiative of the Division for Prevention and Rehabilitation Research and offers researchers interested in the application of empirical social research methods in the field of health services research a space for methodological exchange. The M&M-Lab is headed by Milena von Kutzleben. The M&M-Lab cooperates closely with the Q&Q Lab of the Chair of Medical Sociology at the University of Cologne.

Expertise and methodological focus

• Qualitative study design planning
• Data collection methods: Interviews, group discussions, observations
• Analysis methods: content-analytical and reconstructive (hermeneutic) methods of qualitative empirical social research
• Various forms of meta-synthesis of qualitative studies (qualitative evidence syntheses)
• Qualitative methods in mixed-methods designs

and

• Quantitative study design planning
• Survey design and development and implementation of standardized quantitative surveys. Consulting currently only available to a limited extent.  

Our goal is to advance methods of health services that are tailored to research questions and purposes. In this sense, we deal with the application and further development of empirical social research approaches in the field of health services research and pursue the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods (mixed methods).

Our aims

• Methodological exchange and training: We see the M&M-Lab as a lively place for scientific exchange and discussion on research methods and innovative approaches. In addition, the M&M-Lab is involved in the training of emerging scientists within the framework of teaching.
• Method development: The M&M-Lab is committed to strengthening and further developing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches in the sense of methods tailored to specific study purposes and theory-generating healthcare research.
• Research cooperation: The M&M-Lab participates in research initiatives focusing on the development and testing of innovative methodological approaches for health services research.

September 4, 2024, Online symposium on theoretical and methodological perspectives on context in health services research. Joint event organized by the Q&Q Lab at the University of Cologne and the Mixed Method Lab at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg with Prof. Dr. Lena Ansmann & Dr. Milena von Kutzleben

December 9, 2024, Workshop: Introduction to situation analysis and its application in health services research with Dr. Tamara Schwertel (University of Cologne)

February 12, 2025, Online workshop: Update on hospital reform – background, status quo, and future prospects with Prof. Dr. med. Jochen Schmitt (Dresden University Hospital)

March 20, 2025, Workshop: How do you feel about integration? A working workshop on joint displays in mixed-methods projects. Joint event of the Q&Q Lab at the University of Cologne and the Mixed Method Lab at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg with Dr. Milena von Kutzleben & Helge Schnack