(2015). Qualitative research in health care is an increasingly complex research field, particularly when doing phenomenology. Andrea J. Nightingale, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Second Edition), 2020. Triangulation is the most common plotting method used. Typically, reflexivity involves examining your own judgments, practices, and belief systems during the data collection process. When researchers detail their reflexivity practices in the final abstract, readers can better understand the research process. This is part of our Essential Guide to Coding Qualitative Data | Start a Free Trial of Delve | Take Our Free Online Qualitative Data Analysis Course. Datasets might be those collected from a quantitative survey or participant observation, for example. Although simple in concept, triangulation carries with it a host of implications regarding the proper conduct of social research, the effects of imperfection or unreliability of measurement operations on the development of theory, and the manner in which our field might gradually attain the status of the more developed sciences (Crano 1981, p. 320). This means that, although there is every effort made to present the viewpoint of participants, there is acceptance that we shape the data collection and redirect our analysis as new issues emerge (p. 271). For example, the title of the research report by Thurston and others, 7 Discordant indigenous and provider frames explain challenges in improving access to arthritis care: a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory, indicates at least 2 theoretical standpoints. Reflexive thematic analysis is an approach to thematic analysis that values the researchers subjective experience as the primary way to discern knowledge from data. The results from the datasets are analyzed independently, but they also need to be compared to each other in some way. Various articles in Research Design Review have discussed contextually grounded aspects of the process, such as the following (each header links to the corresponding RDR article). How are you making your decisions and what is your rationale behind each decision? Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Many research projects utilize more than one data collection method, leading to the development of different datasets. Gone is the profound mood swing that descended over the participant when the interviewer asked about his elderly mother. This type of triangulation may be accomplished as repeated applications on the same case but at different periods in time or on a new case. The study of Gamm et al. If you want to incorporate reflexivity into your process without creating an unintentional cerebral gridlock, focus on the problem at hand. Margaret Zeegers, Deirdre Barron, in Milestone Moments in Getting your PhD in Qualitative Research, 2015. If we look for a precise definition of qualitative research, and specifically for one that addresses its distinctive feature of being qualitative, the literature is meager. The traverse may reach the departure point or remain open. Triangulation can overcome the potential bias resulting from the use of a single method or single source of data in a study. ScienceDirect is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Second Edition), Framework for Meta-Assessment of Assessment Studies, Handbook of Evaluation Methods for Health Informatics, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), Milestone Moments in Getting your PhD in Qualitative Research, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. DMichelle P. DuPre, in Homicide Investigation Field Guide, 2013. Research b y Artz et al (2012: 219), for example, identified a series of factors that drive female criminality, including loss, trauma, abuse, domestic violence, povert y and economic ex clusion. Simply explain how interactions between the researcher and the research might include a pattern of interpretation. In the study of Vietnamese culture, for example, I used various methods including historical analysis (i.e. It is a means of validating the study in the eyes of the public. Triangulation is a technique to analyze results of the same study using different methods of data collection. Researchers who are honest and open about their belief systems, underlying biases, and background can better connect with readers. In GPS surveying, the latter mode is generally common while in terrestrial surveying the former is more frequently used, assigning coordinates of new stations to an arbitrarily origin station. What is qualitative research? Qualitative research can be defined as the study of the nature of phenomena and is especially appropriate for answering questions of why something is (not) observed, assessing complex multi-component interventions, and focussing on Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Triangulation emphasises the use of multiple methods and theoretical constructs (Guba, 1990, p. 23), thus adding rigour, breadth, and depth to a study (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998, p. 4). For example: If youre conducting research on the experiences of Asian American youth in New York City, and you are Asian American as well, you can use personal reflexivity to reflect on how your own upbringing, background, and relationship to the community impacts your research. (1998a) applies a multimethod approach, but it was not fully clear whether it was a real triangulation, as it says, In tandem with the surveys, interviews provided additional detail and context for interpreting the survey results. The American Psychological Association Publications and Communications Board Working Group on Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research (JARSQual Working Group) was charged with examining the state of journal article reporting standards as they applied to qualitative research and with generating recommendations for standards that would be There is no single source of analysis in qualitative research because any one research event consists of multiple variables that need consideration in the analysis phase. Nevertheless, researchers face a degree of difficulty in turning valid and relevant issues into logical research questions. Carolyn Ellis, Tony E. Adams & Arthur P. Bochner. When researchers detail their reflexivity practices in the final abstract, readers can better understand the research process. Some researchers will also use triangulation to validate results by comparing the results from different observers of the same phenomenon. (Doody & Bailey, 2016). Start a free trial of Delve today! The deviations exposed by the triangulation may be applied to elaborate the understanding of the subject of investigation. At a basic level, the triangulation strategy requires an acknowledgment that no one measure in the social sciences is a perfect measurement of the construct under consideration. According to the coordinate system used, there are two modes of positioning relative and absolute. Who you are, what your background and upbringing are, Your relationship with the participants of your study, Values and beliefs you hold, and how they make impact your analysis, A written record of each decision you make and how you feel about it, Anything youre anxious or confused about. On the other hand, triangulation has been said to be over-used to the point where it means nothing (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2003: p. 674) and to have too much meaning, therefore having no meaning at all (Sandelowski, 2003: p. 328). for example something as it is experienced (or lived) by a human being that means how things appear in our experiences. Triangulation of methods that include an investigation of potential divergences within the outcome will increase the confidence in a study tremendously. Triangulation is an analysis technique used in multi-method research designs. 1998b). There are four common forms of triangulation: (1) data triangulation means that the ethnographer uses a variety of data sources for the study, for example, a range of different informants; (2) method triangulation means the use of multiple methods in the same project (Janesick, 1998), for example, interviews and observation (called tools or techniques in this book); (3) if possible, the ethnographer uses or consults several different researchers (interviewers/observers) to provide multiple perspectives; and (4) the ethnographer uses multiple theories and/or perspectives to interpret a single set of data. Readers will have a better understanding of how researchers arrived at a particular conclusion. However, a parallel publication of the same group on the same case (?) At its simplest level, triangulation refers to the use of multiple measures to capture a construct. If your underlying belief systems, political opinions, or other biases could have potentially impacted the studys outcome, then you must identify them. Linda Heath, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015. Systematic reviews of qualitative research almost always show that key aspects of study design are not reported, and so there is a clear need for a CONSORT-equivalent for qualitative research . The researcher plays an integral role in the data collection process, especially during qualitative studies. The methodological framework used determines how the degree of overlap between methods is conceptualized. In other words, it is a form of cross-checking. This just shows how important details of the wording are for the interpretation of a study. Through differential leveling elevation is determined as a difference between heights, and in trigonometric leveling that is estimated as a function of vertical angles and horizontal distances. A reason for this lies in the fact that an important ingredient to the process is maintaining participants context and potential multiple meanings of the data. There is no right or wrong way to keep a reflexive journal, and if you observe journals from a variety of researchers, youll see that the approaches are widely varied. The present research used triangulation in this way, using different data sources and methods in the study of the same phenomena. Overview. However, reflexivity also gives rise to several new dilemmas. Divergence can either indicate the methods or the results are flawed, or be treated as new data and analyzed to look for new insights. Ho, L., & Limpaecher, A. It requires a general acceptance of the fact that researchers are dynamic parts of the qualitative process and actively influence the outcome of the project. The open traverse starts at a point of known position and ends at a point whose relative position is measured, so that it is functional to survey routes, such as roads or water courses. 1997), the mere presence of the awareness presented by the authors will still increase the readers confidence in the outcome. 10 January 2011 . Reflexivity also improves public perception. Similarly, qualitative research interviews involve a continuous reflection on language choices because they may impact the research process and outcome. So it seems to be a triangulation also in the first referenced study. Roller, M. R., & Lavrakas, P. J. A. Nightingale, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2009. The Importance of Reflexivity in Qualitative Research. Reflexivity is a means of doing just that. Abstract: Autoethnography is an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyze personal experience in order to understand cultural experience.This approach challenges canonical ways of doing research and In the second mode, the position of a point is referred to a universal coordinate system with a distinctive origin such as the geocenter in the geocentric coordinate system. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines.For example, biologists who conduct field research may simply observe animals interacting with their environments, whereas social scientists conducting field research may These include: Qualitative research is inherently subjective, no matter how well the project is designed, which is why you must incorporate reflexivity into your research process. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). (1995) use the concept at an assessment study of an investigative type (or constructive type) addressing cause-effect relations within the pattern of outcomes. This research method was pioneered by anthropologists Bronislaw Malinowski and Franz Boas but was adopted as a primary research method by many sociologists affiliated with the Chicago School of Sociology in the early twentieth century.Today, participant observation, or ethnography, is a primary research method practiced by qualitative Flexible research: A preference for semi or unstructured research design, rather than imposing prior frames of reference onto the study. The datasets are compared for convergence, complementarity, and divergence. Triangulation of data corresponds to repeated applications of methods and measures. example, in a study of homelessness, it would be noted . The use of triangulation logic in the social sciences emerged at the time that the quantitative purist or positivist approach was challenged by a qualitative purist or constructivist approach (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004). In B. Gough (Ed. Triangulation constitutes a rigorous scientific approach to compensate for weaknesses in the study methodology by application of different approaches for measuring the same characteristic. For instance, Keen et al. Kirsty Williamson, in Research Methods (Second Edition), 2018. Copyright 2022 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. Although this triangulation logic initially was explicated in the social sciences in terms of measures and methods with Campbell and Fiskes (1959) development of the multitrait-multimethod design, the same logic can be extended to treatments, settings, populations, and many other aspects of the research enterprise, and, many research programs used triangulation logic before the term was first imported into the social sciences. (1996: 177) note: We would prefer to distinguish between real triangulation and a multimethod approaches. Triangulation refers to the strategy of using multiple operationalizations of constructs to help separate the construct under consideration from other irrelevancies in the operationalization. In a mixed methods research (quantitative and qualitative research) approach is employed for data collection purposes, in which respect, Blaxter et al . The Delve qualitative analysis tool can streamline the code for your qualitative data and help you to practice reflexivity by reducing bias. 5. L. Heath, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001. There are many ways that context is integrated into the qualitative data analysis process to ensure quality analytical outcomes and interpretations. In research, there is no fixed number of datasets that need to be compared, although in many cases, researchers will use two main datasets. the Vietnamese history and its bearing on culture), comparison (i.e., comparing Vietnamese and Chinese culture) and language and discourse analysis (i.e. This is a fundamental aspect of qualitative research and, in fact, plays a central role in the unique attributes associated with data generation, i.e., the importance of context, the importance of meaning, the participant-researcher relationship, and researcher as instrument , the interconnections, inconsistencies, and sometimes seemingly illogical input reaped in qualitative research demand that researchers embrace the tangles of their data from many sources. Triangulation. Since the two major research questions were about the rules of the game (institutional matrix) in Vietnam and the players (SOEs), the rest of the chapter briefly discusses the sources of data collected about these two broad issues. Case study method is the most widely used method in academia for researchers interested in qualitative research (Baskarada, 2014).Research students select the case study as a method without understanding array of factors that can affect the outcome of their research. The triangulation strategy, however, also can be applied to multiple operationalizations of treatments and manipulations and to the use of multiple theories, analyses, analysts, methodologies, and research designs, to name but a few applications. Although there is no perfect prescription for every study, it is generally understood that researchers should strive for a unit of analysis that retains the context necessary to derive meaning from the data. Change). Reflexivity is essential in qualitative research because this field is heavily dependent upon information that participants provide. Functional reflexivity involves examining your role as a researcher as it pertains to the practice and process of conducting research. One of the 10 unique or distinctive attributes of qualitative research is contextual, multilayered analysis. SAGE Publications Ltd, https://sk.sagepub.com/navigator/qualitative-research-in-psychology/n67.xml. Make no mistake, being reflexive is not part and parcel of being reflective. This is a conscious and intentional intellectual device used by qualitative researchers, especially those whose methodology is phenomenology, consciously and deliberately placing themselves beyond their own constructions, preconceptions, and assumptions that may be closely related to what is being researched. There are countless ways that researcher bias may affect the study. Complementarity builds a richer picture of the research results by allowing the results from different methods to inform each other. The advantage of using triangulation is that it may compensate for weaknesses in the methods applied, where stronger methods are not available or feasible to apply. Triangulation can be used at different levels in a methodology: methods, measures, and data triangulation, as well as investigator and theory triangulation (Ammenwerth et al. PDF | On Jan 1, 2009, M. Saunders and others published Understanding research philosophies and approaches | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/thematic-analysis/book248481, Delve. Bracketing is a method used in qualitative research to mitigate the potentially deleterious effects of preconceptions that may taint the research process. Researchers look for three types of triangulation: convergence, complementarity, and divergence. Qualitative evidence allows researchers to analyse human experience and provides useful exploratory insights into experiential matters and meaning, often explaining the how and why. The primary goal of reflexivity is to be aware of researcher biases and how they influence the outcome of the study. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. This should, however, not be confused with a multimethod approach applied solely for getting a multitude of measures in order to achieve richer information on different characteristics of the object of investigation. Context pertains to apparent as well as unapparent influences that take the meaning of our words beyond their proximity to other words [or] their use in recognized terms or phrases, No one said that qualitative data analysis is simple or straightforward. But in general, it involves a process of reading through your data, applying codes to excerpts, conducting various rounds of coding, grouping codes according to themes, and then making interpretations that lead to your ultimate research findings. Vertical surveys determine the vertical position of points using differential and trigonometric leveling techniques. The goal of being reflexive is to identify any personal beliefs that may have incidentally affected the research. Pope C, Donovan J, Morgan M, Pill R. Using meta-ethnography to synthesise qualitative research: a worked example. By using different measures with different irrelevancies, a researcher can bring into better focus the construct of interest. The concepts learned in this study may transcend nursing or minority faculty members and also apply to other populations, such as foreign-born students, nurses, or faculty. Triangulation may adopt various patterns in the search for a higher coverage or accuracy: a single chain of triangles, a chain of quadrilaterals, or a central point arrangement. Even though reflexivity can present its share of challenges for researchers, these concerns are overshadowed by the significant benefits of this practice. The key advantages of reflexivity in qualitative research include: Reflexivity is a means of holding researchers accountable. folklore and expressions). The mode of operation in trilateration is the calculation of angles from the measured lengths of the triangle sides instead of determining them directly.