Quality in Qualitative Organizational Research: types of triangulation as a methodological alternative

Abstract

The dichotomous debate between objectivity and subjectivity in Social Sciences and the differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches in research are related to the strong demand for validation and accreditation of studies. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to discuss quality in qualitative research, through a systematic analysis of the typologies of triangulation strategy, highlighting the following quality dimensions in research: reliability, credibility, transferability and confirmability. There is a considerable amount of research about quality in qualitative research, as well as about triangulation. However, the main differentiator of this paper is the systematic presentation of triangulation typologies, which allow for the improvement of quality in qualitative research. The authors believe that the focus on "how to" improve quality, and not quality itself, makes this paper original. Among the main findings, it can be highlighted the effort to systematize and present guidelines in order to improve credibility in qualitative research, by means of the triangulation strategy presented in a framework that will allow the reader to have a better understanding of the proposals in this work. The authors understand that the main implication of this paper is mainly in providing guidance to researchers, particularly those dealing with qualitative research, on how they could improve the quality of their research.

Keywords

• Triangulation
• Qualitative Research
• Reliability
• Credibility
• Confirmability