Triangulation: Moving From A General Topic to Ideas For Writing

Triangulation is a technique for focusing and developing your ideas by looking at a general topic from three different perspectives: (1) the static view; (2) the moving view; (3) and the thing in its context. For the purposes of demonstration, let us say that you want to write a paper about capital punishment but are not sure what it is that you want to say about it. Let's triangulate:

(1) The static view of "the thing itself." First, think about your subject in terms of its characteristics: What is capital punishment? What are considered capital offenses? How is capital punishment carried out? What images are conjured up by words like capital punishment, death row, the chair, etc.? Are there any particular cases of capital punishment that you know about, interest you, or have been particularly controversial? If so, what are the details of these cases?

(2) The moving view of the thing as it changes over time and across place. What do you know about the history of capital punishment? Has it always existed, or was it invented at a particular place or historical moment? Have ideas, practices, or laws about capital punishment changed over time? Do ideas, practices, or laws about capital punishment change from place to place, or from culture to culture? Have we as a culture, or you personally, changed your views over time?

(3) The thing in its context. What are religious, legal, social, political, or economic contexts for capital punishment, either generally or in a specific case? What are the racial, class, or gendered politics surrounding capital punishment? Is there a broader context that is needed in order to understand a specific case? Or alternately, is there a specific case that can be used to illustrate the larger forces at work in debates over the capital punishment?

Obviously, you don't need to answer all of these questions! But guided by these, you will write everything you already know about your topic; see where your interests lie; and discover where you may have gaps in your knowledge that require further research. In this way, triangulation can help you to shape and give direction to a rather broad topic. In the end, you will be oriented in your topic and will know what needs to be done in order to move forward.

*This technique is sometimes referred to as "tagmemics."