Short abstract:

Three PhD students found themselves at the intersection of QUANT and QUAL research paradigms. Despite departmental encouragement for mixed methods research, we had no map to navigate the positivist/constructivist chasm. We reflect on our experience building bridges among disciplines.

Long abstract:

Transdisciplinary approaches are considered necessary to address the wicked problems of the modern healthcare landscape. In this article, we reflect on the day-to-day practices of navigating transdisciplinary research from the perspectives of three late-stage PhDs from multiple fields in healthcare research. Despite our shared belief in the value of transdisciplinarity, and departmental encouragement for mixed methods and multi-paradigm research, we found ourselves navigating the positivist/constructivist chasm inherent to this work with insufficient support.

Our article explores the practices involved in conducting such research, and how this work has shaped academic identities, through a reflexive analysis of the diary entries and meetings of PhD students. Major themes include identity shifts; valuing and validating our work in new paradigms and as transdisciplinary interpreters in collaborations; learning to think and speak in multiple research languages; and a sense of risk, loneliness, and being unmoored due to lack of belonging. Through open dialogue, and bi-weekly discussions in a self-founded “Mixed Methods Anonymous” group for transdisciplinary PhD students, we developed an emergent practice of "doing" mixed methods out of a need for substantive discussions about mixing paradigms, practical support for this kind of work, and empathy from others in similar situations. We hope our insights will stimulate other researchers to reflect on practices of transdisciplinary research especially within academic hierarchies. We offer practical insights and recommendations to PhD students, senior university staff, and research funders on how to support transdisciplinary PhD students in future.