grounded theory qualitative analysis

[amelie_la fleur]

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how to do grounded theory... it seems like its coding/recoding/categorizing and then writing about the themes that emerge. do folks have experience/resources for this? I've read Charmaz and a few others on this but reading about it is one thing.. versus putting it into practice (which seems to me to involve coding - revisiting and grouping those codes - then writing about the themes). But maybe I'm totally off... would appreciate any advice/confirmation/tips folks have.

[Beals]

An integral part of grounded theory is that analysis is happening at the SAME TIME you're collecting data. So, for example, if you're interviewing subjects you might start off asking certain questions. After each interview (or a small group more realistically) you analyse the data and try to pick out the emerging themes which results in you changing the questions you ask your interview participants. The idea with GT is that you fine ONE main theory and you follow it. So if you start interviews asking questing about A, B, C, and D, and then after analysing you realize something interesting about D, you change your interview Qs to start exploring various facets of D, moving away from questions about A, B, and C.

If you're not doing this, you're not doing real GT. But, most people don't do real GT as they collect all their data and then code, reanalyze code, and then write about the themes. But many folks manage to publish saying they're doing GT (or doing work inspired by Gt which I think just means its inductive coding) when they technically aren't, so ... take that as you will.

Charmaz has many good youtube videos you could check out. I also recommend reading published work of folks who do Gt and see how they mobilize the method.

Good luck!

[Adelaide9216]

On 3/28/2021 at 6:09 PM, amelie_la fleur said:

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how to do grounded theory... it seems like its coding/recoding/categorizing and then writing about the themes that emerge. do folks have experience/resources for this? I've read Charmaz and a few others on this but reading about it is one thing.. versus putting it into practice (which seems to me to involve coding - revisiting and grouping those codes - then writing about the themes). But maybe I'm totally off... would appreciate any advice/confirmation/tips folks have.

It's an iterative process, so you might need to do multiple rounds of coding to see emerging themes!