What is triangulation in qualitative research, and how does it affect credibility?

What is triangulation in qualitative research, and how does it affect credibility?

• A. Triangulation is just using more data from a single source.
• B. Triangulation uses multiple data sources, methods, or investigators to cross-check findings; increases credibility and reduces method bias.
• C. Triangulation is a statistical test of reliability.
• D. Triangulation reduces sampling bias by randomization.

Answer: (B)

Triangulation in qualitative research means using multiple angles to verify findings: drawing on different data sources, applying different data collection methods, or involving more than one researcher to interpret the data. The goal is to see whether the same patterns hold across these diverse approaches. When findings converge across data sources and methods, confidence in the results grows, and method bias is reduced because a single bias would have to align with several perspectives to produce the same conclusion. It also helps reveal any divergences that prompt deeper understanding rather than a single, unchecked narrative. Using more data from a single source doesn’t test across different viewpoints, so it doesn’t achieve triangulation. It isn’t a statistical test of reliability, which is a quantitative concept. And randomization to reduce sampling bias is a technique tied to quantitative sampling, not triangulation in qualitative work.

Triangulation in qualitative research means using multiple angles to verify findings: drawing on different data sources, applying different data collection methods, or involving more than one researcher to interpret the data. The goal is to see whether the same patterns hold across these diverse approaches. When findings converge across data sources and methods, confidence in the results grows, and method bias is reduced because a single bias would have to align with several perspectives to produce the same conclusion. It also helps reveal any divergences that prompt deeper understanding rather than a single, unchecked narrative.

Using more data from a single source doesn’t test across different viewpoints, so it doesn’t achieve triangulation. It isn’t a statistical test of reliability, which is a quantitative concept. And randomization to reduce sampling bias is a technique tied to quantitative sampling, not triangulation in qualitative work.