Glaser and Strauss subsequently went on to write The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research (1967). The constant comparative method is deemed an original way of organising and analysing qualitative data.
During this investigation, they developed the constant comparative method, a key element of grounded theory, while generating a theory of dying first described in Awareness of Dying (1965). Throughout this collaboration, Glaser and Strauss questioned the appropriateness of using a scientific method of verification for this study. Glaser and Strauss examined how the patients dealt with the knowledge they were dying and the reactions of healthcare staff caring for these patients. Others tried to understand by interpreting treatment by care providers and family members. Some of these suspected they were dying and tried to confirm or disconfirm their suspicions. 8 – 10 Glaser and Strauss originally worked together in a study examining the experience of terminally ill patients who had differing knowledge of their health status. Strauss was conversant in symbolic interactionism and Glaser in descriptive statistics. Glaser and Strauss are recognised as the founders of grounded theory. This summary provides a foundation for a framework to demonstrate the interplay between the methods and processes inherent in a GT study as presented in the sections that follow.
The following section provides an overview of GT – the history, main genres and essential methods and processes employed in the conduct of a GT study. 5 – 7 One of the defining characteristics of GT is that it aims to generate theory that is grounded in the data. This methodology is appropriate when little is known about a phenomenon the aim being to produce or construct an explanatory theory that uncovers a process inherent to the substantive area of inquiry. 2 Grounded theory (GT) is a structured, yet flexible methodology. 4 While a distinction between positivist research and interpretivist research occurs at the paradigm level, each methodology has explicit criteria for the collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Methodology is the research design that shapes the selection of, and use of, particular data generation and analysis methods to answer the research question. Researchers reflect their philosophical beliefs and interpretations of the world prior to commencing research. 2 Birks 3 defines philosophy as ‘a view of the world encompassing the questions and mechanisms for finding answers that inform that view’ (p.
1 The research design is the plan or strategy researchers use to answer the research question, which is underpinned by philosophy, methodology and methods. The aim of all research is to advance, refine and expand a body of knowledge, establish facts and/or reach new conclusions using systematic inquiry and disciplined methods.
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