Grounded theory: a thumbnail sketch

Grounded theory: a thumbnail sketch

1. Grounded theory, Glaser style, is an emergent methodology.

   • It provides some arguments to support that approach.
     • Glaser (1998) is also relevant for beginners in grounded theory and is intended as a textbook for beginners.

2. Grounded theory begins with a research situation.

   • Within that situation, your task as researcher is to understand what is happening there, and how the players manage their roles.

3. Works through the following mostly-overlapping phases.

4. Grounded theory from much other research is that it is explicitly emergent. It does not test a hypothesis.

5. It sets out to find what theory accounts for the research situation as it is.

   • In this respect it is like action research:
     • The aim is to understand the research situation.
     • The aim, as Glaser in particular states it, is to discover the theory implicit in the data.

6. Data collection

   • Interviews are frequently the main source of the information you will develop your theory from.
   • Note-taking
     • Glaser recommends against recording or taking notes during an interview of other data collection session.
     • Coding
       • Constant comparison
         • For the first interview you are merely asking yourself: What is going on here? What is the situation? How is the person managing that situation? Therefore, what categories (plural) are suggested by that sentence?
         • Core category
           • After a time one category (occasionally more) will be found to emerge with high frequency of mention, and to be connected to many of the other categories which are emerging. This is your core category.
           • Saturation
             • In collecting and interpreting data about a particular category, in time you reach a point of diminishing returns.
       • Sampling
         • Your initial sample is likely to be defined by your choice of research situation.
         • Memoing
           • I have mentioned already that memoing continues in parallel with data collection, note-taking and coding.
           • Sorting
             • My reason for using cards for memoing is twofold.
             • Writing up
               • The sort structure is the report structure. It is often just a matter of preparing a first draft by typing up the cards in sequence and integrating them into a coherent argument.
               • The place of literature
                 • The first is that, in an emergent study, this has implications both for the place of reading in your own research process and for your report.
                 • The second is that the literature is not given a position of privilege when compared to the data
                 • A variation based on action research
                   • I research my own practice as educator, facilitator and consultant.
                   • Qualitative psychology logy.
                     • This is for those attempting to use grounded theory in psychology.
                     • Contribution to knowledge
                       • I have no doubt, by the way, that you will have a contribution to knowledge at the end of it all.