grounded theory

1. Unit 6 (b):
Grounded Theory
Ms. Chanda Jabeen
Lecturer
RN, RM, BSN
M.Phil. Epidemiology & Public Health
PhD (Scholar) Epidemiology & Public Health

2. OBJECTIVES
At the completion of this unit learners will be able
to:
• Describe methods/approaches/types of
qualitative research i.e. Grounded Theory.

3. • A grounded theory design is a systematic,
qualitative procedure used to generate a
theory that explains, at a broad conceptual level, a
process, an action, or an interaction
about a substantive topic.
• The phrase "grounded theory" refers to theory
that is developed inductively from a
corpus of data.
• It is mainly used for qualitative research, but is
also applicable to other data

4. When do you use Grounded Theory?
• when you need a broad theory or explanation of a
process.
• especially helpful when current theories about a
phenomenon are either inadequate or
nonexistent

6. Grounded Theory
• Goal is to develop a theory about the
processes (social behaviour or scene) under
investigation in a natural setting
• Useful in areas where little is known or when
a new perspective is needed
• Tries to identify the core process and
subsidiary processes in the situation

7. G.T. - Philosophy
• Symbolic interactionism
• humans react to things on the basis of meanings
that events have for them in everyday life
• meanings are derived from social situations
• meanings are shaped by dealings with others

8. G.T. - Developing the Question
• Question may not be explicitly stated but can be
implied from the purpose
• Question is broad & may change several times as
data are analyzed
• Basic social process
• Gerund (noun ending in ing )
• What is the process of ...

9. G.T. - Role of Researcher
• Studies the behavior & the social setting that
influences the interaction
• Is a participant & observer
• No effort is made by researcher to put aside
assumptions.
• On the contrary the researcher uses past
experiences and assumptions to better
understand the processes being observed.

10. G.T. - Sample
• Participants who are experiencing the social
process under study
• Size determined by theoretical sampling
(collects, codes & analyzes data & then
decides what additional data are needed)
• Saturation- inability of new data to add new
codes

11. Methods
The basic idea of the grounded theory approach is to
read a textual database and
"discover" or label variables (called categories,
concepts and properties) and
their interrelationships.
The data do not have to be literally textual -- they
could be observations of
behavior, such as interactions and events in a
restaurant. Often they are in the
form of field notes, which are like diary entries.

12. G.T. - Data Collection
• Data collection & analysis are concurrent
• Observation & audio-taped interviews
• Field notes
• Researcher participates in the social group,
observes & records data relevant to study purpose
• Broad open-ended questions
• Ask participants to share stories of their experiences

13. G.T. _ Data Collection
• Everything to the grounded theorist is data
• Data are obtained through a combination of:
participant observation, interviews with
informants, reading the literature on the study
questions, and self-reflection

14. Data Analysis
• Data collection, coding & analysis occur
simultaneously
• Constant comparative method
• Early data are coded with words that describe the
action in the setting
• Codes get revised & data recoded
• Categories develop from the clustering of codes
• Categories are then linked to develop a tentative
theory or conceptual framework

15. Conducting a Grounded Theory Study
• Decide if Grounded Theory design best addresses the
research
problem
• Identify a process to study
• Seek approval and access
• Conduct theoretical sampling
• Code the data
• Use selective coding and develop the theory
• Validate your theory
• Write a grounded theory research report

19. G.T.-Literature
• Review of the literature in the substantive area
of the study is reserved until after the theory
begins to emerge from the study data
• Researcher integrates the literature with the
emerging theory during saturation, sorting
memos, & report writing