washback refers to the influence of a test on teaching and learning. this study was an attempt to compare the influence of ielts and toefl ibt on the expectations the students brought to their courses and to investigate how these expectations were fulfilled. to this end, 100 ielts and 120 toefl ibt students attending preparation courses took a questionnaire survey, and a sample of their ten cla...

Social scientists use many different methods, and there are often substantial disagreements about which method is appropriate for a given research question. In response to this uncertainty about the relative merits of different methods, W. E. B. Du Bois advocated for and applied “methodological triangulation”. This is to use multiple methods simultaneously in the belief that, where one is uncer...

AIM To describe the use of methodological triangulation in a study of how people who had moved to retirement communities were adjusting. BACKGROUND Methodological triangulation involves using more than one kind of method to study a phenomenon. It has been found to be beneficial in providing confirmation of findings, more comprehensive data, increased validity and enhanced understanding of stu...

Despite the ongoing "war" between methodological camps this paper will argue for an integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in the sociological research process. For this purpose a short overview about important methodological discussions addressing basic questions of mixed (qualitative and quantitative) method designs will be given focusing on the term "triangulation" which is seen...

The nature of human interaction, particularly within the context of family, is necessarily complex due to the multitude of characteristics which influence the individual's intention toward the other, as well as the characteristics and effects of interaction as a function of the co-construction of meaning between interactants. This essay delineates two arguments, philosophical and pragmatic, whi...