Methodological triangulation in a study of social support for siblings of children with cancer.
Triangulation is an approach to research that is becoming increasingly popular among nurse researchers. Five types of triangulation are used in nursing research: data, methodological, theoretical, researcher, and analytical triangulation. Methodological triangulation is an attempt to improve validity by combining various techniques in one study. In this article, an example of quantitative and qualitative triangulation is discussed to illustrate the procedures used and the results achieved. The secondary data used as an example are from a previous study that was conducted by the researcher and investigated nursing interventions used by pediatric oncology nurses to provide social support to siblings of children with cancer. Results show that methodological triangulation was beneficial in this study for three reasons. First, the careful comparison of quantitative and qualitative data added support for the social support variables under investigation. Second, the comparison showed more in-depth dimensions about pediatric oncology nurses providing social support to siblings of children with cancer. Finally, the use of methodological triangulation provided insight into revisions for the quantitative instrument.
Murray
J S
JS
Doctoral Program in Clinical Nursing Research, University of Texas at Austin, USA. JMurray325@aol.com
D002648:Child; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D012801:Sibling Relations; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires