Why Triangulate?

Abstract

This article discusses triangulation as a strategy for increasing the validity of evaluation and research findings. Typically, through triangulating we expect various data sources and methods to lead to a singular proposition about the phenomenon being studied. That this is not the case is obvious to most researchers and evaluators. Given that this expectation is unrealistic, an alternative perspective of triangulation is presented. This alternative perspective takes into account that triangulation results in convergent, inconsistent, and contradictory evidence that must be rendered sensible by the researcher or evaluator.