In the

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

, triangulation refers to the application and combination of several

research methods Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

in the study of the same phenomenon. By combining multiple observers, theories, methods, and

empirical Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences and ...

materials, researchers hope to overcome the weakness or intrinsic

biases Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

and the problems that come from single method, single-observer, and single-theory studies. It is popularly used in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. "The concept of triangulation is borrowed from

navigational Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

and

land surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...

techniques that determine a single point in space with the convergence of measurements taken from two other distinct points." Triangulation can be used in both

quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

and qualitative studies as an alternative to traditional criteria like reliability and validity.

Purpose

The purpose of triangulation in qualitative research is to increase the credibility and validity of the results. Several scholars have aimed to define triangulation throughout the years. *Cohen and Manion (2000) define triangulation as an "attempt to map out, or explain more fully, the richness and complexity of

human behavior Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity ( mentally, physically, and socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external stimuli throughout their life. Kagan, Jerome, Marc H. Bornstein, and Richard M. ...

by studying it from more than one standpoint." *Altrichter et al. (2008) contend that triangulation "gives a more detailed and balanced picture of the situation." *According to O'Donoghue and Punch (2003), triangulation is a "method of cross-checking data from multiple sources to search for regularities in the research data."

Types

Denzin (2006) identified four basic types of triangulation:Denzin, N. (2006). ''Sociological Methods: A Sourcebook.'' Aldine Transaction. . (5th edition). *''Data triangulation:'' involves time, space, and persons. *''Investigator triangulation:'' involves multiple researchers in an investigation. *''Theory triangulation:'' involves using more than one theoretical scheme in the interpretation of the phenomenon. *''Methodological triangulation:'' involves using more than one method to gather data, such as interviews, observations,

questionnaires A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of ...

, and documents.

References

{{Authority control Social science methodology Cohen, L., Mansion, L. and Morrison, K. (2000). Research Methods in Education.5th ed. London: Routledge. p.25

Purpose

Types

See also

References