Researching Experience
GROUNDED THEORY
Choosing GTM
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 Research Q:
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Charmaz (1995) GTM are useful when researching ‘individual processes,
interpersonal relations and the reciprocal effects between individual and
larger social processes’. She further notes that GTM are ‘useful for
studying typical social psychological topics such as motivation, personal
experience, emotions, identity, attraction, prejudice and interpersonal
cooperation and conflict
 Congruence between the philosophy of contructivist GTM and
personal positionality
 Titscher et al. (2000)

1991 – 1998 GTM received almost 64% of all types of method, quantitative
as well as qualitative, citations in the Social Science Citation Index
GTM
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 GTM involves a systematic, inductive and comparative
approach for conducting research.
 Charmaz (2003): noted GT
 ‘in some cases refers, correctly, to the result of the research process,
i.e. a grounded theory, but in many other cases it refers to the method
used in the research process.
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 The aim is to develop a well grounded theory that
describes, explains, interprets
phenomenon of interest.
and
predicts
the
 In 2006, Charmaz summarised GTM as follows:
 ‘GT involves taking comparisons from data and reaching up to
construct abstractions and then down to tie these abstractions to data.
It means learning about the specific and the general – and seeing
what is new in them – then exploring their links to larger issues or
creating larger unrecognised issues in entirety’.
GTM
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 What is integral to GTM?
 Bryant & Charmaz (2007) refer to GTM as ‘a family of
methods’
 Hood (2007): ‘troublesome trinity’
 theoretical sampling, constant comparison of data to theoretical
categories and focus on the development of theory via theoretical
saturation of categories
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 Ultimately as noted by Charmaz (1995) the purpose of GTM is
‘to develop a theoretical analysis of the data that has relevance
to the area of study’ (p.48). She notes the following six
characteristics of GTM:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
simultaneous dynamic data collection and analysis
creation of analytic codes and categories developed from data not from
preconceived hypotheses
development of mid range theories to explain processes and behaviour
memo writing of personal process in the development of analytic codes
and detailing categories, the crucial intermediate step between coding
data and draft writing
theoretical sampling that is sampling not for representativeness of a given
population but for building theory and refining and checking the
researchers emerging conceptual categories
delaying the literature review
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 GTM aims at making meaning explicit
 To do this and to build rather than test theory, data is coded
 Coding:
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Tool for handling masses of data
Enables consideration of alternate meanings
Ensures systematic work
Supports creative work
Identifies, develops & relates categories that are the building blocks of
theory
Defines what data are about.
Process with number of levels:
initial line by line coding
 focused coding
 categories

Line by line coding
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 Examining each line of data or unit of meaning and naming,
defining, or labelling actions or events that occur in it or that
are represented by it using short, active, specific terms
 Nb to ask questions of the data to identify actions and
significant processes e.g.
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What do the statements take for granted?
What process is at issue here?
How does this process develop?
How and when does the process change?
 Critical analysis in coding process helps anchor and embed the
analyst in the data and supports against ‘flights of fancy’
Focus Coding
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 Focus coding uses the most significant or frequent initial
codes to:
 Sort
 Synthesise
 Explain
 Organise larger amounts of data
 This stage of coding is more directed, selective and
conceptual than line by line coding and represents what the
analyst suggests explain most accurately, the recurring
concepts that are beginning to emerge from the data.
Focus Coding
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 During focused coding the analyst evaluates and clarifies the
categories and the relationships between them
 Where possible it is important to use the participants’ words
though as coding progresses it will engage more abstraction
 Movement across interviews and observations and comparisons
of participants’ experiences, actions and processes to form
categories from significant codes
Reflexivity
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 Reflexivity: salient process in GTM
 Coding is supported through reflexive process whereby informal notes
about the analytical process are kept
 Observations about the data, questions about connections between codes,
personal commentary about possibilities emerging in the data needs to be
recorded
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memo writing, journalling field notes
 Reflexivity clarifies:
 ‘the researcher’s experience, decisions, and interpretations in ways that bring the
researcher into the process and allow the reader to assess how and to what extent the
researcher’s interests, positions and assumptions influenced inquiry’ (Charmaz, 2006).
 It moves to illuminate ‘how the researcher conducts his or her research, relates to the
research participants and represents them in written reports’ (Charmaz, 2006).
 Internal supervisor
Constant Comparison & Categories
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 Categories emerge through a process of ‘constant comparison’
 Wasserman (2009):
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‘everything is compared with everything and all of the time. Statements
within an interview are compared with each other and with other interviews,
new data are compared with older data, conceptual categories derived from
some data are compared with other data directly and with the conceptual
categories derived from that data’
 Glaser & Strauss (1967) constant comparative method is an
aid to the analyst in theory generation in terms of:
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integration, consistency, plausibility and remaining close to the data
 Keeping memos at this stage helps analyst tease out categories
and build links between emergent concepts thereby advancing
theory development through the process.
Theoretical Sampling & Saturation
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 Theoretical Sampling
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As noted by Glaser and Strauss (1967) initial decisions regarding
data collection are based on general area or subject matter but as
theory begins to develop data collection becomes more focused and
driven by the emerging theory. This process is known as theoretical
sampling and entails an iterative process for the analyst of collecting
and analyzing data and deciding what data to collect next and where
to find them, in order to develop the emergent theory.
 The cyclical process of data collection and analysis and
collection is repeated until there is no new emergent
conceptual information, a point known as ‘saturation’
Triangulation
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 An important part of data collection is triangulation
which is a process whereby the research issue being
explored is considered through multiple perspectives
of different stakeholders.
 Triangulation process as noted by Stake (2005):
 ‘considered a process of using multiple perceptions to clarify
meaning verifying the repeatability of an observation or
interpretation’ (p.454).
Finally......
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 Data should be written up using thick description
(Geertz, 1973) with sources being frequently quoted
verbatim to allow the reader to gain a full
understanding of categories developed.
 One works towards establishing four criteria of the
methodology as identified by Rennie and Brewer
(1987) those of :
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developing believable research that is seen as plausible by the
reader
comprehensive research in that it accounts for most of the data
grounded research that is tied to the data
applicable research that should lead to additional investigation