Situating multi‐modal approaches in engineering education research

Abstract

Traditionally, engineering education researchers rely on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed- or multi-method approaches for their research designs, each with its nuances, set of rules, and worldviews. Here we present a new approach that is yet to be widely accepted in engineering education research (EER): namely the multi-modal approach. This guest editorial is particularly timely because, in 2020, the EER taxonomy underwent a revision (Version 1.2), where the term “ multi-modal approaches ” was added to Section 12.d.iv (Finelli, 2020). With this addition to the taxonomy, it is important for EER scholars to understand what multi-modal approaches entail and how they are different from other approaches present in mixed-methods or multi-methods. To clarify this new approach further, we give examples of how multi-modal research is used in EER and other related studies.