Qualitative Research Methods Grounded Theory

Grounded Theory History Introduced in 1967 by Glaser and Strauss in the book The Discovery of Grounded Theory - Challenged: 1. divisions between theory and research 2. the notion that qualitative research was a precursor to more “rigorous” quantitative research

Grounded Theory History - Challenged: 3. beliefs that qualitative research methods are impressionistic and unsystematic 4. the separation of data collection and analysis 5. assumptions that qualitative research could produce only descriptive cast studies rather than theory development

Grounded Theory History Strauss believed that the quality of a theory can be evaluated by the process by which that theory was constructed, which is in contrast to the scientific perspective that states the quality of a theory is determined by its ability to explain new data.

Grounded Theory Defining Grounded Theory: refers to theory that is developed inductively from a corpus of data (Steve Borgatti: http://www.analytictech.com/mb870/introtoGT.htm)

Grounded Theory Defining Grounded Theory: the systematic generation of theory from systematic research; a set of rigorous research procedures leading to the emergence of conceptual categories

Grounded Theory Characteristics 1. Purpose is to develop to theory about phenomenon of interest - should be grounded or rooted in observation 2. Allows researcher to seek out and conceptualize latent social patterns and structures through constant comparisons

Grounded Theory Characteristics 3. Iterative (repetitive) process 4. Rich description is important, but not primary focus 5. Purposive sampling

Grounded Theory Glaserian Hallmarks 1. Researchers must find the core variable (the main concern and its recurrent solutions) as the first stage of the study, and limit the scope of their study to that

Grounded Theory Glaserian Hallmarks 2. Researcher must suspend existing beliefs/preconceptions, remain open, and trust in the emergence of concepts from the data

Grounded Theory Glaserian Hallmarks Use constant comparison method to provide abstract conceptualizations and avoid descriptive interpretations - is the heart of GT - helps facilitate the discovery of patterns in the data

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps Topic selection and preparation - minimize preconceptions - Do not do a literature review at this point! Data collection - a variety of methods can be used

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps Analysis constant comparative method: involves comparing one segment of data with another to determine similarities and differences a. overall objective is to identify patterns in the data

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps Analysis b. While you do comparisons you will be taking notes and coding coding: identifying categories and properties - can be done formally or informally

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps Analysis c. Ask 3 general questions of the data: 1. What is the data a study of? 2. What category does this incident indicate? 3. What is actually happening in the data?

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps 4. Memoing memos: theorizing write-up of ideas about codes and their relationships - notes to yourself * Data collection, analysis, and memoing are ongoing and overlap

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps Data collection Note taking Coding Memoing Sorting Writing

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps Notes Codes Memos

Grounded Theory Stages/Steps 5. Sorting and Theoretical Outline: refers to conceptual sorting of memos into an outline of the emergent theory, showing relationships and concepts 6. Write up/report

Grounded Theory The Literature 1. Avoid reading literature regarding the specifics of your study at first, rather read broadly 2. Access relevant literature as it becomes relevant 3. Can be used as data

Grounded Theory Adequacy of Theory 2 Criteria: 1. The theory must fit the situation 2. The theory must work

Grounded Theory YouTube Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S1kJ0k3yHk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcpxaLQDnLk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwR9K17kul0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6RpQelvS1k