Application of Mixed Methods in Transdisciplinary Research Projects on Sustainable Mobility

Abstract

Urban mobility systems are facing far-reaching structural transformations: There is the challenge of managing the growing volume of traffic and the associated environmental and social problems. On the one hand, novel micro-mobility services such as light electric vehicles (LEVs) show high potential for reducing emissions, e.g., through increased energy efficiency. On the other hand, they require change of urban mobility systems, e.g., through increasing shared concepts. The mixed methods approach is considered a good methodology for exploring the transformation of urban mobility systems since it can help to answer both technical and societal questions. Two transdisciplinary projects using the mixed method design were evaluated to improve the research for future mobility. To provide a critical reflection of the projects, a catalog of quality criteria was used to evaluate the research. This catalog was evaluated using structured interviews with project participants from research, practice and civil society. The results show that the combination of applied methods enables a comprehensive multi-perspective sustainability evaluation of urban micro-mobility concepts. The need for an early participatory research design was also evaluated. The result is an exemplary research design and a methodological guideline for the successful application of mixed methods for transformation research in the field of urban mobility systems.