Grounded TheoryConstant

comparative analysis with data collected during

research

Generating theory and doing social research are two parts of the same

process

THEORY

D A T AConceptual Density:

Concept development depending on deep

familiarity with the data and regular verification

and analysis

Fluid:Embrace interaction of

different actors, emphasize temporality

and process

3 Levels of Analysis - No interpretation and abstraction of data presentation - participants tell their own story- Descriptive narrative creation using field notes, interview transcripts & researcher interpretations- Building a theory using high levels of interpretation and abstraction

What Grounded Theory is NOT

Reason to ignore the literature

An excuse for absence of methodology

Theory testing, content analysis, or word counts

Presentation of raw data

Organisation & Coding of DataField Notes- Taken during observation/researchMemos- Tie data together, ongoing, explain concepts that appear in data, a quick way to capture thoughts tied to the emerging theoryCoding- A cyclical, flexible process

Open-looking for patterns/categories, breaking up data into categoriesAxial- linking categoriesSelective- categories into theory

Constant Comparison- comparing data, new vs. old, concepts vs. data, verification processTheoretical Sampling- locating emerging categories in transcripts/notes, guides data collectionTheoretical Saturation- no new information is being discovered

CODING OF DATA

OPEN CODING: LOOK FOR PATTERNS/CATEGORIES

FIELD RESEARCH

THEORY

AXIAL CODING: LINKING CATEGORIES

SELECTIVE CODING: CATEGORIES INTO THEORYCOMPARISON

CONSTANT MEMO

WRITING

Applying to Data• Observation• Ethnography• Interviews• Focus Groups• Case Study Material• Documentary Sources

Grounded Theory is best utilized in instances where there is a large amount of qualitative data that has

formed in unpredictable ways. The researcher creates meaning of the data through systematic analysis.

(Lawrence, J., & Tar, U., 2013)

Strengths

• Recognized rationale for qualitative research• Variety of methods available to use (interviews,

observations, survey etc)• Focus on the practical• Systematic analysis of data (codes and categories)• Analysis can use computer software for coding and

sorting of data• Development of theories from data• Explanations based on reality and empirical evidence• Flexibility

Weaknesses

• Inhibits precise planning (cannot predict sample in advance)

• Researcher bias (researcher influenced by their own culture and experience)

• Analysis complicated (use of codes and categories)• Not open to alternative interpretations• Relies too heavily on empirical data• Balancing prior knowledge with new concepts• Generalising potential limited• Difficult to have a specific time scale of research

Who developed the grounded theory method?

• Barney Glaser & Anselm Strauss in the 1960s.

• Differed on the details of implementation• Strauss and Corbin published Basics of

qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Glaser and others saw this as an “erosion” of the original methodology

Most Commonly Used Models

1. Classic grounded theory (CGT)

2. Qualitative data analysis (QDA) or ‘Straussian grounded theory’

3. Constructivist grounded theory

4. Feminist grounded theory

Many researchers “pick and mix” between methods without explaining differences, leaving readers to

assume they use the same methods of data analysis.

References• Charmaz, K. (2000): ‘Grounded Theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods’. In N. Denzin, & Y.

Lincoln, (eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 509-535) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

• Denscombe, M. (2003). The Good Research Guide: for small scale research projects. Maidenhead, PA: Open University Press.

• Dillon, D. R. 2012. Grounded Theory and Qualitative Research. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.• Evans, G.L. (2013): A novice researcher’s first walk through the maze of grounded theory:

rationalization for classical grounded theory. The Grounded Theory Review, 12: 1 pp. 37-55

• Fernandez, C. (2012): Guest editorial, Themed section. The Grounded Theory Review, 11 (1), 7-28

• Glaser, B. (1978): Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in the Methodology of Grounded Theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.

• Glaser,B. (1992): Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis: Emergence v Forcing. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press

• Goethals, G.R., Sorenson, G.J., and Burns, J.M.( 2004): Encycopaedia of Leadership Grounded Theory. Sage Knowledge, pp. 608-612

References Continued• Goulding, C. (2005). Grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology. A comparative

analysis of three qualitative strategies for marketing research. European Jounral of Marketing, 39: 3/4, 294-308.

• Lawrence, J., & Tar, U. (2013). The use of Grounded Theory Technique as a Practical Tool for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 11(1).

• Suddaby, R. (2006). From the editors: What grounded theory is not. Academy of management journal, 49(4), 633-642.

• Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1990): Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques London: Sage

• Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology. Handbook of qualitative research, 273-285.

• Wuest, J. (1995): ‘Feminist grounded theory: and exploration of the congruency and tensions between two traditions in knowledge discovery’. Qualitative Health Research, 5 (1), 125-137