Page 553 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

520 n TRIANguLATION

be effective, the research team would eval- triangulation has its roots in surveying and
uate the effectiveness of implementing this navigation, and describes the idea of using
T drug or treatment for a broader population, known points and angles in a triangular
such as all CHF patients in that practice and fashion to locate an unknown point.
several other practices around that city who There are four different approaches to
admit their patients to a similar hospital. triangulation: methodological, data, theoret-
The T2 translational research study would ical, and investigator. Methodological trian-
be designed to determine the best strategies gulation, currently the most commonly used
(educational, marketing, e-mail, phone, mail- triangulation approach in nursing research,
ings, and meetings) to communicate the suc- involves the use of two or more different meth-
cess of this drug or treatment in CHF to all ods within a single study. This approach can
practitioners in the area and to increase the involve within-method or between-method
practitioners’ compliance implementing the triangulation. Within-method triangulation
new evidence, theoretically, to close the qual- refers to the use of several different instru-
ity chasm. Finally, a T3 translational research ments to measure a construct, for example, the
study would be designed to study how the use of the peabody picture Vocabulary Test-
inclusion of this new drug or treatment in Revised as well as the Kaufman Assessment
CHF guidelines of care could be sustained Battery for Children to measure different
and become a nationwide standard of care dimensions of child development. Between-
for all CHF patients. A program, such as the method (also known as across-method) tri-
American Heart Association’s Get with the angulation refers to the use of more than one
Guidelines, is a prefect example of a program research method to study a phenomenon, for
to use to disseminate the new evidence. The example, the use of a qualitative approach
T3 research would focus on the strategies to such as phenomenology in concert with a
implement the program to sustain compli- quantitative approach such as a descriptive
ance nationwide using the new drug or treat- survey. Between-method triangulation can
ment as part of the coronary artery disease be accomplished simultaneously or sequen-
secondary prevention treatment guidelines to tially. A second type of triangulation, theo-
be implemented for CHF patients by the time retical triangulation, involves the analysis of
of hospital discharge. What is often referred data using several related yet perhaps con-
to as “distilling evidence” through the imple- tradictory theories or hypotheses. This type
mentation of guidelines for care helps take of triangulation can be used within a quan-
evidence to all practitioners to improve the titative or a qualitative methodology; it seeks
outcomes of care. to avoid a narrow, specialized interpretation
of the data. A third type, data triangulation,
Kathleen M. White involves data collected from different sources.
A fourth type of triangulation is investigator
triangulation. The use of more than one data
collector helps to ensure the reliability of the
TriangulaTion data and the use of multiple analysts to inter-
pret the data guards against the risk of bias
associated with only one point of view.
Triangulation, as it is most commonly used Originally, triangulation was carried
in nursing research, refers to the combina- out mainly for purposes of confirmation.
tion of qualitative and quantitative research Confirmation is analogous to convergent
methods within a single study. There are a validity and refers to the idea that through
number of approaches to triangulation, and the use of multiple methods, data sources, or
it can serve a number of purposes. The term investigators, a single, obvious conclusion or