Commentary—After Triangulation, What Next?

Abstract

This commentary agrees with the editors’ recent decision to do away with triangulation as a term in mixed methods research, but before doing so, it argues for a review of its original popularity, and a careful consideration of what should replace it. Triangulation depends on the comparison of results from qualitative and quantitative studies that attempt to answer the same research question(s), so there are three possible outcomes: convergence, complementarity, and divergence. After reviewing each of these alternatives, I present an approach that cross-tabulates tests of hypotheses as quantitative results and themes as qualitative results, based on the extent to which those results are convergent, complementary, or divergent.