Grounded-theory

GroundedTheory12/02/2006DefineGroundedTheoryGroundedtheory,incontrasttotheoryobtainedbylogico-deductivemethods,istheorygroundedindatawhichhavebeensystematicallyobtainedandanalyzedthrough“social”research(Goulding,2005).Theroleofgroundedtheorywas,andis,thecarefulandsystematicstudyoftherelationshipoftheindividual’sexperiencedtosocietyandhistory(Goulding,1998).Groundedtheoryrequirestherecognitionthatenquiryisalwayscontextboundandfactsshouldbeviewedasboththeoryladenandvalueladen.TheInfluenceofSymbolicInteractionSymbolicinteractionismisbothatheoryofhumanbehaviorandanapproachtoenquiryabouthumanconductandgroupbehavior.Theclassicsymbolicinteractionismisamicro-sociologicaltheory,…focusesonthenatureofindividualinsocietyandtherelationshipsbetweenindividualperceptions,collectiveactionandsociety(Annells,1996)BasicPrinciplesofDevelopingtheorybyGroundedTheory1.enablepredictionandexplanationofbehavior2.beusefulintheoreticaladvancesinsociology3.beapplicableinpractice4.provideaperspectiveonbehavior5.guideandprovideastyleforresearchonparticularareasofbehavior6.provideclearenoughcategoriesandhypothesessothatcrucialonescanbeverifiedinpresentandfutureresearchDifferencesbetweenGTandOtherQualitativeToolsGTemphasizesontheorydevelopmentandbuildingGThasabuilt-inmandatetostrivetowardsverificationthroughtheprocessofcategorysaturation.*Thisinvolvesstayinginthefielduntilnofurtherevidenceemerges.*Verificationsisdonethroughoutthecourseoftheresearchproject,ratherthanassumingthatverificationisonlypossiblethroughfollow-upquantitativedata.TheNatureandRoleofTheoryAtheoryisasetofrelationshipsthatofferaplausibleexplanationofthephenomenonunderstudy.Theorizingistheprocessofconstructingalternativeexplanationsuntila“bestfit”thatexplainsthedatamostsimplyisobtained.Leveloftheorybuilding:Substantivetheory:developedfromworkinaspecificarea,suchasaparticulartypeoforganization.Formal,hasexplanatorypoweracrossarangeofsituation.LesspopularDataCollectionIdentificationofanareaofinterestUsuallyresearchersadoptgroundedtheorywhenthetopicofinteresthasbeenrelativelyignoredintheliteratureorhasbeengivenonlysuperficialattention.Sourcesofdata:1.Secondarydata:lesstimeconsuming,butislackofcontrolingeneratingthedata2.Lifehistoryasdata3.Interviews:facetofaceandunstructuredaremostcommondatasourcekeyconsiderationforinterviewing*assessthesetting*Understandthelanguageandcultureoftherespondents*Decideonhowtopresentoneself*Locateinformant*Gaintrust*Establishrapport4.FocusGroup5.Observation6.SurveyGlaser’sFiveTypesofDataBaseline:factualInterpreted:How…Properline:involvespeoplechoosingexpressionstosupportaparticularline,e.g.postmodernVague:imprecise,maysimplyrequirefurtherinvestigation,ormaybedeliberatelyvagueinordertoconcealanaspectofbehavior.Conceptual:usuallyinvolveanungroundedopinionorhypothesis,e.g.becomingself-indulgentTheUseofMemosCouldbeusedforanyformatofdatacollection.Thekeystageintheprocess,andwithoutusingittheoreticallytowriteupideastheresearcherisnotinfactdoinggroundedtheory(Glaser,1978)CanbeafewlinesorseveralpageslongEachmemoshouldbeintroducedbyatitleoracaption,whichisusuallyacategoryoraconcept.Helpstogeneraterelationships,abstractintegrativeframeworks,andmoregeneralproblems.MemosarealsoanexcellentsourceofdirectionforfuturetheoreticalsamplingAdviceonUsingMemos1.alwaysgiveprioritytomemoing2.Memoingshouldbeginassoonasthefirstfielddatastartcomingin,andusuallyshouldcontinuerightuptheproductionofthefinalreport.3.Memosareaboutideasandareusedasindicatorsforananalysisthatissetinaconceptualframe.4.Don’tstandardizememoformatsortypes,especiallyinamulti-researcherstudy.5.Memowritingisfun,oftenprovidessharp,sunlitmomentsofclarityorinsight.TheoreticalSamplingResearcherdoesn’tknowinadvancewhattosampleforandwhereitwilllead.SamplesarechosenwhentheyareneededratherthanbeforetheresearchConstantComparisonAfundamentalfeatureofGT,tolookforpatternsandthemes.Comparisonexploresdifferencesandsimilaritiesacrossincidentswithinthedatacurrentlycollectedandprovidesguidelinesforcollectingadditionaldata.Thisrequiresadifferent,moresophisticated,codingtechniquewhichiscommonlyreferredtoas“axialcoding”andinvolvestheprocessofabstractionontoatheoreticallevel.ReachingSaturationTheresearchermustensureconstantcomparisonisanongoingfeatureoftheprocess.Theoreticalsaturationisachievedthroughstayinginthefielduntilnonewevidenceemergewhichcaninformorunderpinthedevelopmentofatheoreticalpoint.Usetheliteraturetoenhancetheoreticalsensitivity.InterpretingtheDatabyUsingCodingStrategiesOpenCoding*theinitialstageofconstantcomparisonduringwhichthedataarescrutinizedforeverypossiblemeaning*startswhilewritingmemos*breakingdownthedataintodistinctunitsofmeanings*startswithafulltranscriptionofaninterview,afterwhichthetextisanalyzedlinebylineinanattempttoidentifykeywordsorphraseswhichconnecttheinformants’accounttotheexperienceunderinvestigation.OpenCodingTheselabelsrefertothingslikehospitals,informationgathering,friendship,socialloss,etc.Theyarethenounsandverbsofaconceptualworld.Somearealsoadje