grounded theory: an introduction (updated jan 2011)

Hangzhou, January 2011Prof. Dr. Hora Tjitra, Zhejiang University

Grounded TheoryAn Introduction to Inductive Qualitative Analysis Method

访谈方法

An Introduc+on to Grounded Theory

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Discovery has been the aim of science since the dawn of the renaissance.

But how those discoveries are made has varied with the nature of the materials being studied

and the times.Strauss & Corbin, 1998


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14 years in Germany

7 years in China

Born and grew up in Indonesia

Prof. Dr. Hora Tjitra - Cross-cultural and Business Psychology

Dipl.-Psych., Technical University of BraunschweigOrganizational Psychology and Human Resource Management

Dr. Phil., University of RegensburgIntercultural Psychology and Strategic Management

Executive Education, INSEADHR Management in Asia


Outline

1 Selecting the right qualitative research method 5

2 From the data to theory: different coding steps in GT 8

3 Memos and Diagrams in GT 16

4 Criteria for good GT research 23

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Data Collection

Preparation Process

Analyzing Process

Process of Qualitative Research

Single Case Analyses

Document Analyses Action Research Field Research Qualitative

ExperimentsQualitative Evaluation

Qualitative Research Process: From Ideas (Questions) to Results (Theory)

Writing Qualitative Research Report

Qualitative Research Design

The Foundations and Pillars of Qualitative Thinking

Research Topics, Problems and Questions (Hypotheses)


Checklist for selecting a qualitative research method

1. What do I know about the issue of my study or how detailed is my knowledge already?

2. How developed is the theore;cal or empirical knowledge in the literature about the issue?

3. Am I more interested in generally exploring the field and the issue of my study?

4. What is the theore;cal background of my study and which methods fit this background?

5. What is it that I want to get close to in my study? Personal experiences of (a group) of certain people or social processes in the making? Or am I more interested in reconstruc;ng the underlying structures of my issue?

6. Do I started with a very focused research ques;on right away or do I start from a rather unfocused approach in order to develop the more focused ques;ons underway in the process of my project?

7. What is the aggregate I want to study? Personal experiences, interac;ons or situa;ons or bigger en;;es like organiza;ons or discourse?

8. Is it more the single case (e.g. of a personal illness experience or of a certain ins;tu;on) I am interested in or the comparison of various cases?

9. What are resources (;me, money, wo/manpower, skills…) available to run my study?

10. What are the characteris;cs of the field I want to study and of the people in it? What can you request of them and what not?

11. What is the claim of generaliza;on of my study?


Research perspectives in qualitative research: matching theories and methods

Research perspectives in qualitative research

Subject‘s points of view

Making of socialrealities

Cultural framing ofSocial realities

Theoreticalpositions

Methods ofData collection

Methods ofinterpretation

Symbolic interac/onism Interpre/ve interac/onism

Ethnomethodology Social construc/onism

Psychoanalysis Gene/c structuralism

Semi-‐structured interviews

Narra/ve interviews

Focus groups Ethnography Par/cipant observa/on Recording interac/ons Collec/ng documents

Recording interac/ons Photography Film

Theore/cal coding Content analysis Narra/ve analysis Hermeneu/c methods

Conversa/on analysis Discourse analysis

Objec/ve hermeneu/cs Deep hermeneu/cs


The Origins of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967)

• A conceptual levels theory and general research methodology

• The emergence of grounded theory was during the collabora;on of Glaser and Strauss at the University of California at Berkeley from 1965 to 1967.

• Barney Glaser

– Sorbonne University Paris, French Literature

– Columbia University New York, Lazersfield & Merton, Sta;s;cal Analysis

• Anselm Strauss

– Chicago University, Symbolic Interac;onist Sociology

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Graphic source:h.p://qualmethods.wikispaces.com/Grounded+Theory

http://qualmethods.wikispaces.com/Grounded+Theory

http://qualmethods.wikispaces.com/Grounded+Theory


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The Creation of THEORY from DATA

Methodology: A way of thinking about and studying social reality Methods: A set of procedures and techniques for gathering and analyzing data Coding: The analytic process through which data are fractured, conceptualized,

and integrated to form theory.

Grounded theory mean theory that was derived from data, systematically gathered and analyzed through the research process.

In this method, data collection, analysis and eventual theory stand in close relationship to one another.

The interpretation of data cannot therefore be regarded independently of their collection or the sampling of data.

A researcher does not begin a project with a preconceived theory in mind, rather he / she begins with an area of study and allows the theory to emerge from the data.

Interpretation is the anchoring point for making decisions about which data or cases to integrate next in the analysis and how or with which methods they should be collected.

In the process of interpretation different ‘procedures’ for dealing with text can be differentiated: ‘open coding’, ‘axial coding’ and ‘selective coding’.


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Characteristics of a grounded theorist

The ability to step back and critically analyze situations

The ability to recognize the tendency toward bias

The ability to think abstractly

The ability to be flexible and open to helpful criticism

Sensitivity to the words and actions of respondents

A sense of absorption and devotion to the work process


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Coding procedures -Analysis through microscopic examination of data

Build rather than test theory

Provide researcher with analytic tools for handling masses of raw data.

Help analyst to consider alternative meanings of phenomena.

Be systematic and creative simultaneously.

Identify, develop and relate the concepts that are building blocks of theory.

Graphic source: h.p://qr<ps.com/faq/FAQ-‐-‐code%20terms.htm

http://qrtips.com/faq/FAQ--code%20terms.htm



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Open coding - What does the Data want to Say

The analytic process through which concepts are identified and their properties and dimensions are discovered in data.

• Open coding aims at expressing data and phenomena in the form of concepts.

• For this purpose, data are first disentangled (segmented). Expressions are classified by their units of meaning in order to a^ach annota;on and above all ‘concepts’ (codes) to them.

• Basic ques;ons in doing open coding:

– What? Which phenomenon is mentioned?

– Who? Which persons and roles?

– How? Which aspects are mentioned?

– When? How long? Where? Time, course, location.

– How much? How strong? Aspects of intensity.

– Why? Which reasons are given or can be constructed?

– What for? With what intention, to which purpose?

– By which? Means, tactics and strategies for reaching the goal.


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Axial coding - Structuring and Categorizing the Data

The process of relating categories to their subcategories, termed ‘axial’ because coding occurs around the axis of a category, linking categories at the level of properties and dimensions.

• After did the pen coding, the next step is to refine and differentiate the categories (resulting from open coding).

• From the multitude of categories, those are selected that seem to be most promising for a further elaboration. The axial categories are enriched by their fit with as many passages as possible.

• Finally, the relations between these and other categories are elaborated.

• The developed relations and categories that are treated as essential are verified over and over against the text and date.

• The researcher moves continuously back and fort between inductive thinking (developing) and deductive thinking (testing).

Conditions Causes Consequences Co-Variances Contexts Cutting Points


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Theoretical (Selective) Coding: Developing Theories based on the Data

The process of integrating and refining the theory.

• The third step, continuous the axial coding at the higher level of abstraction.

• The aim of this step is to elaborate the core category around which the other developed categories can be grouped and by which they are integrated.

• In this way, the story of the case is elaborated and formulated.

• The analysis and the development of the theory aim at discovering patterns in the data as well as conditions under which these apply.

• Finally, the theory is formulated in greater detail and again checked against the data.


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The process of theory development: description, conceptual ordering, and theorizing

Description: The use of words to convey a mental of image of an event, a piece of scenery, a scene, an experience, an emotion, or a sensation; the account related from the perspective of the person doing the depicting.☞ depicting, telling a story, sometimes a very graphic and detailed one, without stepping back to interpret events or explain why certain events occurred and not others.

Conceptual ordering: Organizing (and sometime rating) of data according to a selective and specified set of properties and their dimensions.☞ classifying events and objects along various explicitly stated dimensions, without necessarily relating the classifications to each other to form an overarching explanatory scheme.

Theory: A set of well-developed concepts related through statements of relationship, which together constitute an integrated framework that can be used to explain or predict phenomena.☞ the act of constructing from data an explanatory scheme that systematically integrates various concepts through statements of relationships. It enables users to explain and predict events, thereby providing guides to action.

• Before beginning the process of developing theory, a researcher must have some understanding of what cons/tutes theory.

• The first step toward understanding is to be able to differen/ate among descrip/on, conceptual ordering, and theorizing.

• A second step is realizing that these forms of data analysis actually build on one another, with the theory incorpora/ng aspects of both.

Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory


Stages of a Grounded Theory Study

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Stages are generally sequen/al, but once research process begins they are oOen conducted simultaneously, as the par/cular research requires.

1. Preparation• Minimizing pre-conception

2. Data Collection• Interviews, Observation or any

other types of data• Theoretical Sampling

3. Analysis• Constant Comparative Analysis• Sensitizing Concepts: Open,

Axial and Theoretical Coding

4. Memoing• theorizing write-up of ideas and

codes and their relationship• Integrating the Literatures

5. Theoretical Outline• Visual outline of the major

concepts of the emerged theory

6. Sorting• Conceptual sorting of memos

7. Writing

Source: Odis E. Simmons




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Memos: WriQen records of analysis that may vary in type and form

Code notes: Memos containing the actual products of the three types of coding: open, axial, and selec/ve

Theoretical notes: Sensi/zing and summarizing memos that contain an analyst’s thoughts and ideas about theore/cal sampling and other issues

Operational notes: Memos containing procedural direc/ons and reminders

Diagrams: Visual devices that depict the rela/onships among concepts

Definitions of Terms - Memos and Diagrams


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Taking field note instead?

• Insufficient space to develop ideas

• Old coding written in the margins might be misleading or confusing when concepts revised

• Difficult to retrieve information in margin

• Unnecessary to write on the margin when many helpful computer programs available

Features of Memos and diagrams

• Analyst develops his or her own style: computer program, color-coded cards, binders, folders, notebooks

• Orderly, progressive, systematic, easily retrievable• Provide a storehouse of analytic ideas• Force the analyst to work with concepts rather

than raw data• Act as reflections of analytic thought• Memos can be written from other memos.

Why Memos and Diagrams?


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Technical Features of Memos and Diagrams

Memos & Diagrams The analyst

• Not be afraid to modify the content of memos and diagrams as progressing

• Keep a list of emergency codes for reference

• Be flexible and relaxed when doing Ms & Ds

• Be conceptual rather then descriptive when writing memos

• Notice when category appears saturated or several memos begin to sound alike

• Keep multiple copies of memos

• References should include code number of the interview, observation, or document; date; page number

• Contain headings denoting the concepts or categories, the title or heading describe the type of memos

• Quotes or phrases of raw data can be included as handy reminder, and further as illustrations

• Be specific and kept distinct


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Code Notes

Theoretical Notes

Operational Notes

• At first, scan a document and identify some concepts.• Early notes include categories, the concepts that point

to the categories, some properties and dimensions

• Ask some other properties and their dimensions • Theoretical sampling

• What operations to carry out next? Asking question, making comparison, or doing more observation or interview?

Memos and Diagrams in Open Coding


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Memos and Diagrams in Selective Coding

• Think about this or that• Go here or there to theoretically sample• Check out this or that• Do this or that

Filling in of categories and refinement of the theory

Fewer; take the form of an integrative memo describing what the research is all about.

Theoretical and Operational Notes

Code Notes

DiagramsShow the density and complexity of the theoryHelp the analyst finalize relationships and discover breaks in logic

The final step in analysis ---- integration of concept & development and refinement

Criteria for Evaluation


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Judging the merits of Theory-Building Research

What one is making judgment about

✓ FITThis is another way of expressing validity (Face Validity)

✓ Does the concept adequately explain the data which the theory purports to express?

✓ WORKABILITY

✓ Do the concepts begin to account for how the main concerns for those being studied are being con/nually resolved?

✓ RELEVANCE

✓ How relevant is the research to those being studied?

✓ MODIFIABILITY

✓ How capable is the theory of incorpora/ng new concepts from the data which is generated aOer the comple/on of the study?


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Evaluating the Research Process

• Criterions1 : How was the original sample selected? On what grounds?

• Criterions2 : What major categories emerged?

• Criterions3 : What were some of the events, incidents, or actions (indicators) that point to these major categories?

• Criterions4 :On the basis of what categories did theoretical sampling proceed? That is, how did theoretical formulations guide some of the data collection? After the theoretical sampling was done, how representative of the data did the categories prove to be?

• Criterions5: What were some of the hypotheses pertaining to conceptual relations (i.e., among categories), and on what ground were they formulated or validated?

• Criterions6: Were there instances in which hypotheses did not explain what was happening in the data? How were these discrepancies accounted for? Were the hypotheses modified?

• Criterions7: How and why was the core category selected? Was this collection sudden or gradual, and was it difficult or easy? On what grounds were the final analytic decisions made?


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Evaluating the Empirical Grounding of a Study

Criterion 5: Are the conditions under which variation can be found built into the study and explained?

Criterion 6: Has process been taken into account?

Criterion 7: Do the theoretical findings seem significant, and to what extent?

Criterion 8: Does the theory stand the test of time and become part of the discussions and ideas exchanged among relevant social and professional groups?

Criterion 1: Are Concept Generated?

Criterion 2: Are the concept systematically related?

Criterion 3: are there many conceptual linkages, and are the categories well developed? Do categories have conceptual density?

Criterion 4: is variation built into the theory?

Thank You

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Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (China)

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grounded theory: an introduction (updated jan 2011)

Education

qualitative research

qualitative research

data coding

good gt research

focused research question

interpretation of data

eventual theory

preconceived theory