Transcription of Understanding triangulation in research
1 Understanding triangulation in researchRoberta Heale,1 Dorothy Forbes2 The term triangulation originates in thefield of navi-gation where a location is determined by using theangles from two known inresearch is the use of more than one approach toresearching a question. The objective is to increase con-fidence in thefindings through the confirmation of aproposition using two or more independent combination offindings from two or more rigorousapproaches provides a more comprehensive picture ofthe results than either approach could do is typically associated with researchmethods and designs. However, there are several othervariations on the term. triangulation may be the use ofmultiple theories, data sources, methods or investigatorswithin the study of a single tech-nique was originally introduced into qualitative researchin the 1950s as a means to avoid potential biases arisingfrom the use of a single technique isused to confirm suggestedfindings, but it can also beused to determine the completeness of triangulation is the most commontype of that use triangulationmay include two or more sets of data collection usingthe same methodology, such as from qualitative datasources.
2 Alternatively, the study may use two differentdata collection methods as with qualitative and This can allow the limitations from eachmethod to be transcended by comparingfindings fromdifferent 4 triangulation is often used to describe researchwhere two or more methods are used, known as mixedmethods. Combining both quantitative and qualitativemethods to answer a specific research question mayresult in one of the following three outcomes: (1) theresults mayconvergeand lead to the same conclusions;(2) the results may relate to different objects or phenom-ena but may becomplementaryto each other and usedto supplement the individual results and (3) the resultsmay bedivergentorcontradictory. Converging resultsaim to increase the validity through verification; com-plementary results highlight different aspects of thephenomenon or illustrate different phenomenon anddivergentfindings can lead to new and better explana-tions for the phenomenon under of triangulation , or mixed methods, are asvaried as there are research studies.
3 Nurses attitudesabout teamwork may be collected through a survey andfocus group discussion. A study to explore the reductionof blood pressure through a nutritional education pro-gramme may include a review of participant adherenceto the diet changes through daily logs along with aseries of BP readings. In every case, the researchers linkand compare different methods related to a singleresearch regarded as a means to add richness anddepth to a research inquiry, there are several criticismsof the use of triangulation in research . Triangulationassumes that the data from two distinct researchmethods are comparable and may or may not be ofequal weight in the research inquiry. In addition, whentwo or more data sets have convergentfindings, theremust be caution in interpretation since it may simplymean that each of the data sets isflawed.
4 Others3ques-tion whether the term triangulation has any meaningwhen it is so broadly defined,mixed methodsis pre-ferred. In spite of these criticisms, triangulation is gener-ally considered to promote a more comprehensiveunderstanding of the phenomenon under study and toenhance the rigour of a research Institute of Navigation.( ). Getting to the point. A.( ). triangulation . A,Teddle of mixed methods in socialand behavioral research . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, triangulation in mixed-methodsnursing Res2005;12:7 of Nursing, LaurentianUniversity, Sudbury, Ontario,Canada2 Faculty of Nursing, University ofAlberta, Edmonton, Alberta,CanadaCorrespondence to:Roberta HealeSchool of Nursing, LaurentianUniversity, Sudbury, ON,Canada Based NursOctober 2013| volume 16| number 4| research made simple on July 10, 2022 by guest. Protected by Based Nurs: first published as on 13 August 2013.
5 Downloaded from
