Triangulation in Social Research: Qualitative and ...

Triangulation in Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Can Really Be Mixed FINAL VERSION. Forthcoming as a chapter in Developments in Sociology, 2004, ed. M. Holborn, Ormskirk: Causeway Press. By Wendy Olsen Abstract For those who teach methodology within Social science departments, notably sociology, the mixing of quantitative and Qualitative methods presents an ongoing problem. Recent developments in the philosophy of science have argued that the two traditions should not have a separate-but-equal status, and should instead interact. By reviewing three positions about this issue ('empiricist', constructionist, and realist) the chapter offers a review of the sociological approach now known as Triangulation . The chapter refers to several empirical examples that illustrate the realist position and its strengths. The conclusion of the chapter is a more abstract review of the debate over pluralism in methodology.

all social objects are merely socially constructed. This idea is rejected only in a guarded sense. Constructionism itself appears too simplistic to serve as a methodology in itself (as did positivism, and as does empiricism; see Fay, 1996). A realist alternative has been offered (Sayer, 1992). Realism argues that social objects

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