his paper explores the possibilities (and challenges) of using online interactive mind maps to disseminate qualitative research with the aim of offering an alternative to traditional, linear, text-based methods of dissemination.

The creation of things, according to Aristotle, involves a bringing together of form (morphe) and matter (hyle). In the subsequent history of western thought, the hylomorphic model of creation has become ever more deeply embedded. Contemporary discussions in fields ranging from anthropology and archaeology to art history and material culture studies continue to reproduce its underlying assumptions.

The aim of this paper is both to expose these assumptions and to replace the model with an ontology that assigns primacy to processes of formation as against their final products, and to the flows and transmutations of materials as against states of matter. The argument has five components.

First, the inhabited world consists not of objects, considered as bounded, self-contained entities, but of things, each a particular gathering of the threads of life.

Secondly, life has to be understood not as an interior animating force but as the generative capacity of that encompassing field of forces and materials wherein forms arise and are held in place. This notion of ‘life’ should not be confused with the concept of ‘agency’, which is a product of the same reduction that reduces things to objects.

Thirdly, a focus on life-processes required us to attend not to materiality as such, but to the fluxes and flows of materials. We have to follow these flows, tracing the paths of form-generation.

Fourthly, to understand how these paths are creative, we must read creativity ‘forwards’, as an improvisatory joining in with formative processes, rather than ‘backwards’ as an abduction from a finished object to an idea in the mind of an agent.

Finally, the pathways along which improvisatory practice unfolds are not connections between one thing and another but lines along which they continually come into being. Thus the entanglement of things has to be understood literally and precisely, not as a network of connections but as a meshwork of interwoven lines of growth and movement.

Drawing on various media for elicitation within qualitative social research may generate thick and rich descriptions and discussion. This article introduces music as a valuable research tool and argues that music can serve to elicit data in relation to areas, topics, and feelings that typically remain unspoken or that are difficult to uncover in a conventional qualitative interview. The article considers the existing use of music methods and presents the potential benefits of using music and, in particular, music elicitation for qualitative research. It then presents a practical example of music elicitation in use, through considering a piece of research conducted with Extreme Metal fans. In doing so, the article addresses key considerations and methodological issues that may arise from using the method.

The data to be discussed in this paper arose from a study of the experiences of parents who had an unborn baby with a serious abnormality. The study used multiple methods to assess parents’ satisfaction with aspects of their care which thus allow us some insights into methodological issues in the numerical rating of satisfaction.

It is increasingly being recognised that ‘satisfaction’ is a complex construct whose measurement is problematic. This paper outlines some of the specific issues in measuring and defining satisfaction which arose in this study and which we believe have much wider applicability. Although they inevitably serve to draw attention to the limitations of numerical scoring of satisfaction, they also illuminate the concept of satisfaction and enrich our understanding of it.

This paper is written as a practical and accessible guide to some key issues in mixed methods research. It explores six broad strategies that can underpin the mixing of methods and linking of different forms of data, be they qualitative, quantitative, or spanning this divide.

It does this in a context where mixing methods has come to be seen as a good thing, and where research funders are increasingly thought to look favourably upon research proposals involving more than one method for generating and analysing data. Yet mixing methods for no good reason other than the sake of it can produce disjointed and unfocussed research, and can severely test the capabilities of researchers. Researchers engaging in mixed methods research need to have a clear sense of the logic and purpose of their approach and of what they are trying to achieve, because this ultimately must underpin their practical strategy not only for choosing and deploying a particular mix of methods, but crucially also for linking their data analytically.

The paper outlines challenges and opportunities that each of the six strategies brings for mixed methods practice and analysis, giving each a verdict.