ED 507 – Notes from Lindlof & Taylor 2011
Chapter 8
Categories – go to where there is a rendering of personal meaning
-Rich points and turning points that reveal cultural knowledge
Grounded theory – goes by the “logic of discovery” p. 250
- Emergent theory is “grounded in” the relationships between data and the categories
into which they are coded
- Dev categories through ongoing process of comparing units of data w/ each other
(constant-comparative method)
- Codes, categories and category definitions continue to change dynamically while
researcher is still in the field – new data alters the scope of the analytic framework
1) Stage I on grounded theory – coding for as many categories as possible, originating
from concepts/issues from the literature.
a) 2 forms of coding:
i) open coding – unrestricted coding of data
(1) chunks data by coherent meaning
(2) opens up inquiry
ii) in vivo coding – used by social actors to characterize their own scene – same
time as open coding. ie. vivid language
b) Categories - Compare each incident of code to other incidents to determine
categories
i) incidents are coded and compared, and total number of categories begins to
level out.
c) Codebook- devel and evolution of a coding system, documenting the codes and
procedures for applying them
i) Catalogue the category definitions, codes used for identifying each category,
examples of text for each category, number of incidents coded, location of
incidents in the data
d) Theoretical memos – flesh out the thematic meanings of the categories
e) Integration and dimensionalization (p. 255 for example) – reshape categories
and produce deeper meanings
i) axial coding – brings separate categories together under an overarching theory
or principle of integration
(1) acts on a category by
(a) causal conditions that give rise to it
(b) context it’s embedded
(c) action/interactional strategies by which it’s handled, managed, carried
out
(d) consequence of those strategies
ii) dimensionalization – identifying properties of categories and constructs,
exploring its attributes or characteristics along continua or dimensions
(1) dimensional analysis examining each construct, tease out key variations
(2) “theoretically saturate” – new data adds little value to the concepts
When to leave a research site
1) 3 tests of information sufficiency – that data collection work is nearing an end.
a) taken-for-gratedness – researcher’s ability to grasp native meanings of
communicative action, and no longer surprised or baffled by actions
b) theoretical saturation - observation of what is already known
c) heightened confidence – observations and findings faithful to empirical world,
shed light on preexisting or emergent questions and propositions
Interpretation
1) Constructing symbolic links –tropes- that tie first order meanings to second order
concepts
2) Uses tropes to expand, concretize and emphasize meanings
a) metaphoric – figurative frame
b) metonymic – part is taken as emblematic representation of the whole domain
c) ironic – inverts the normal meaning of another expression – ie. incongruity between
widely accepted understanding and how the members actually behave
i) **Could be a way to describe IW
d) syntagmatic – culturally prescribed activity that describes a scripted pattern
e) paradigmatic – contrasting elements of a cultural domain – where are the
oppositional sets
3) Exemplars – incidents, episodes and strips – segments of data used to shape/advance
an argument. can be:
a) apt illustration – description of an event
b) social situation
c) extended case study – sequence of events involving the same actors and settings
over a long period of time
Nespore – Finding Patterns with Field Notes
p. 303 – question how everyday things have come to be defined, who creates and sustains
these definitions, how their boundaries are drawn and maintained, what people are trying
to do by making abridged maps and structures, how these become stabilized in
bureaucratic procedures and infrastructure, and whos interests are actually being served.
How people account for things and communicate or miscommunicate with one another.
Know how problems are produced, why and how some things are problems and others
aren’t, why some things become public controversies and others, perhaps as important, do
not. How they were made to be seen, felt, heard …how and wat we are expected and
allowed to see.How are they constituted culturally and historically.