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9/09GROUNDED THEORY
Grounded theory
o refers simultaneously to a method of qualitative inquiry and products of that inquiry
o Like most discussions of grounded theory, this entry emphasizes the method of inquiry
o As such, the grounded theory method consists of a set of systematic, but flexible,
guidelines for conducting inductive qualitative inquiry aimed toward theory
construction
Grounded theory developed from the codification of the methods that its originators,
sociologists Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss (1967), used in their study of the
social organization of dying in hospitals
o Their pioneering book, The Discovery of Grounded Theory, set a new course for
qualitative research in sociology and beyond and left a lasting imprint on both the
grounded theory method and social scientific inquiry, in general
o significance of Glaser and Strauss’s book must be placed in its historical context
o Publication of the Discovery book stood as a methodological marker that countered the
increasing hegemony of quantitative methods and changed the status of qualitative
research
o Glaser and Strauss challenged numerous sociological conventions of the day. They
disputed the sharp divisions between data-collection and analysis phases of research
The guidelines that comprise the method reflect Glaser and Strauss’s divergent
backgrounds
The Discovery book outlined key methodological strategies but Glaser’s (1978) manual,
Theoretical Sensitivity, first elaborated the grounded theory approach, and Charmaz
(2006) and Corbin and Strauss (1998) later offered distinctive versions
o Glaser (1978) delineated his concept- indicator model of theorizing, outlined sets of
loosely related theoretical codes, advocated line-by-line coding of data, and established
the analysis of basic social processes as the focus of grounded theory studies
o In all versions, grounded theory begins with very early close coding of collected data.
The initial coding aims to ask what is happening in these data and invokes short analytic
labels in the form of gerunds to identify specific processes and treat them theoretically
When researchers define a set of tentative codes, they use these codes to compare, sort,
and synthesize large amounts of data
Memo writing
o (a) engages researchers with their data and emerging comparative analyses
o (b) helps them to identify analytic gaps
o (c) provides material for sections of papers and chapters
o (d) encourages researchers to record and develop their ideas at each stage of the
research project
, The strategy of theoretical sampling distinguishes grounded theory and makes it much
more than a coding system
Theoretical sampling
o means that researchers seek and sample data that informs their theoretical categories
o differs markedly from representational sampling with which it is often confused
o Researchers engage in theoretical sampling after they have selected key categories and
need to elaborate and or refine them
For grounded theorists, theoretical saturation means seeking data to identify and fill the
properties of a theoretical category
Grounded theory strategies
o enable researchers to avoid being overwhelmed by unanalyzed data and incomplete
ideas bc grounded theorists write memos all along that give them readily available
materials to sort and integrate
Strauss and Corbin added another type of coding, axial coding, in which researchers
would treat a category as an axis around which they identified the dimensions of its
properties and established its relationships to other categories
Constructivist grounded theory, as Bryant and Charmaz each first articulated separately
and recently together has emerged as the major alternative to the earlier versions
Constructivist grounded theory
o assumes that both the research process and the studied world are socially constructed
through actions, but that historical and social conditions constrain these actions
o stresses the key facets of the method as outlined above
o recognizes that the researcher plays an active and vital role in the research process,
particularly in the developing dialogue between researcher and data from which codes
and categories, and eventually a grounded theory should result
o strengthens the basic guidelines by attending to issues such as reflexivity, research
context, inescapable effect of prior knowledge and existing literature
constructivism takes a relativistic view and emphasizes
o (a) the social conditions of the research situation
o (b) the researcher’s perspectives, positions, and practices
o (c) the researcher’s participation in the construction of data
o (d) the social construction of research acts, as well as participants’ worlds.
Constructivism retains the central foci of action, process, and meaning in earlier
versions, but favors theoretical understanding over explanatory generalizations
In short, constructivists seek abstract understanding of empirical phenomena as situated
knowledge
19/09 1
,Research practice obligates the researcher to triangulate, that is, to use multiple methods,
data sources, and researchers to enhance the validity of the research findings
Triangulation is typically perceived to be a strategy for improving the validity of research or
evaluation findings evaluation suggest both the importance and
It is essentially a strategy that will aid in the elimination of bias and allow for the dismissal of
plausible rival explanations
Zie text
19/09 2
Reliability
Reliability
o refers to the consistency of a measure
o Psychologists consider three types of consistency
over time (test-retest reliability)
across items (internal consistency)
across different researchers (inter-rater reliability).
Test-Retest Reliability
When researchers measure a construct that they assume to be consistent across time,
then the scores they obtain should also be consistent across
time
o Test-retest reliability is the extent to which this is actually the case
Assessing test-retest reliability requires using the measure on a group of people at one
time, using it again on the same group of people at a later time, and then looking at test-
retest correlation between the two sets of scores
o This is typically done by graphing the data in a scatterplot and computing Pearson’s r
In general, a test- retest correlation of +.80 or greater is considered to indicate good
reliability
, Internal Consistency
A second kind of reliability is internal consistency
o which is consistency of people’s responses across the items on a multiple-item measure
o In general, all items on such measures are supposed to reflect = underlying construct
Like test-retest reliability, internal consistency can only be assessed by collecting and
analyzing data. One approach is to look at a split-half correlation
o This involves splitting the items into two sets, such as the first and second halves of the
items or the even- and odd-numbered items. Then a score is computed for each set of
items, and the relationship between the two sets of scores is examined
A split-half correlation of +.80 or greater is generally considered good internal
consistency
most common measure of internal consistency used by researchers in psychology is a
statistic called Cronbach’s α
o Conceptually, α is the mean of all possible split-half correlations for a set of items
Interrater Reliability
Inter-rater reliability
o extent to which different observers are consistent in their judgments
Interrater reliability is often assessed using Cronbach’s α when the judgments are
quantitative or an analogous statistic called Cohen’s κ (the Greek letter kappa) when they
are categorical
Validity
Validity
o extent to which the scores from a measure represent the variable they are intended to
Here we consider three basic kinds: face validity, content validity, and criterion validity.
Face Validity
Face validity
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