Many family medicine and community health researchers use surveys as an original research methodology. Our purpose is to illustrate how survey research provides an important form of quantitative research that can be effectively combined with qualitative data to form a mixed methods study. We first provide an overview of the key principles in survey research and in mixed methods research. We review the various ways that survey can be used in mixed methods studies, citing options such as beginning a study with a survey, using a survey as the second form of data collection, or combining a survey and a form of qualitative data in a single data collection procedure. Finally, we illustrate in a specific example six steps in conducting a mixed methods study using survey research. In a mixed methods study using a survey, primary care researchers should consider six steps…more