A guide for planning triangulation studies to investigate complex causal questions in behavioural and psychiatric research.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

At the basis of many important research questions is causality - does X causally impact Y? For behavioural and psychiatric traits, answering such questions can be particularly challenging, as they are highly complex and multifactorial. 'Triangulation' refers to prospectively choosing, conducting and integrating several methods to investigate a specific causal question. If different methods, with different sources of bias, all indicate a causal effect, the finding is much less likely to be spurious. While triangulation can be a powerful approach, its interpretation differs across (sub)fields and there are no formal guidelines. Here, we aim to provide clarity and guidance around the process of triangulation for behavioural and psychiatric epidemiology, so that results of existin

SUBMITTER: Treur JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7616800 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature