Triangulation

"Methods are like the kaleidoscope: depending on how they are approached, held, and acted toward, different observations will be revealed.” Denzin (1989)

Anyone involved in research knows that every research method has its strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, each method is capable of analysing only one aspect of the object of interest; and one aspect – no matter how precisely it is studied using a specific method – does not provide any information about the object as a whole.

Using different methods allows various aspects of one and the same object to be studied with a view to gaining  more precise and varied details about the subject. One can also assume that conclusions about an object are more valid if the results of different analyses  support one other.

You may be familiar with the geographical concept of "triangulation points." The term "triangulation" is mainly used in land surveying or  navigation at sea. Triangulation allows you to calculate the position of a point in space precisely. In the sixties, social scientists discussed whether a hypothesis can be proven by applying different measurement methods ("multitrait-multimethod-matrix"). Norman Denzin (1989) introduced the term "triangulation“ to the discussion on methods qualitative research. He defined the term as a combination of methodologies for researching the same phenomenon.

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