Editing Triangulation (social science) (section)

==Purpose==

The purpose of triangulation in qualitative research is to increase the credibility and validity of the results. Several scholars have aimed to define triangulation throughout the years.

*Cohen and Manion (2000) define triangulation as an "attempt to map out, or explain more fully, the richness and complexity of [[human behavior]] by studying it from more than one standpoint."<ref>Cohen, L., & Manion, L. (2000). ''Research methods in education.'' Routledge. p. 254. (5th edition).</ref> 
*Altrichter et al. (2008) contend that triangulation "gives a more detailed and balanced picture of the situation."<ref>Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P. & Somekh, B. (2008). ''Teachers investigate their work; An introduction to action research across the professions.'' Routledge. p. 147. (2nd edition).</ref>
*According to O'Donoghue and Punch (2003), triangulation is a "method of cross-checking data from multiple sources to search for regularities in the research data."<ref>O'Donoghue, T., Punch K. (2003). ''Qualitative Educational Research in Action: Doing and Reflecting.'' Routledge. p.78.</ref>