Grounded Theory

Data Collection and Analysis

The process of developing grounded theory is not linear; rather, the researcher tacks back and forth among data collection, data coding, and memo writing. Coding and memo writing begin soon after the initial data are collected and continue throughout the data collection. Coding and memo writing lead to and inform further data collection. Through coding and memo writing, the researcher develops ideas about possible relationships among concepts. The researcher can then engage in more focused data collection in order to test those relationships. Coding and memo writing may also result in questions and insights about possible relationships among categories that lead the researcher to go back and examine data collected earlier in the study.

Coding involves a process of constant comparison. The researcher compares a unit of data to previous data looking for the ways in which the data are similar or different from other data. Glaser and Strauss argued that grounded theory could be based in either quantitative or qualitative data. However, most discussions of grounded theory focus on qualitative data, including but not limited to interviews, field notes, documents, memoirs, letters, diaries, and newspapers. The process of constant comparison helps the researcher determine which category is the best fit for a unit of data, and it enables the researcher to refine categories and develop new categories. The process of coding data often involves three types of coding: open, axial, and selective.