The perception of deviant behaviours by young people: triangulating survey and focus group data

Starting with a reconstruction of the debate on triangulation and its purposes in social sciences, in the case that follows I seek to clarify the technique of triangulation by conducting a critical analysis of the goals of integrating different data-collection instruments. In the second part, I consider a practical example of integration between two research techniques: surveys and focus groups. By applying this triangulation to an investigation on the perception of juvenile deviance, I identify the advantages and limitations of this strategy.