Researcher Triangulation in Interview Analyses: Inter-Subjectivity as an Asset for the Production of Original Interpretative Ideas
Résumé
Researcher triangulation is often used in studies based on qualitative research in order to look for consensus and to limit the influence of researcher subjectivity. A more innovative way of comprehending this strategy is to consider subjectivity as an aid to the understanding of the phenomena under study. This perspective refers to long-standing concerns in the literature, particularly in feminist research in which subjectivity appears as a resource for scientific production. The objectives of this contribution are to describe step by step a researcher triangulation procedure “in action”, to highlight its utility for grasping the complexity of the object under analysis and to discuss the epistemological implications raised by the implementation of such a practice. It is based on a French study aimed at exploring women’s experiences and representations of intimate partner violence. Results highlighted that the triangulation sessions, spaces of intersubjectivity and reflexivity for researchers, appeared as a way of identifying zones of tension involved in the interpretational work of experiential discourses. Here triangulation was used as a relevant space for questioning what these tensional zones were able to reveal about the phenomena under study rather than an arena for discussing researchers’ agreements/disagreements.