International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

In its original sense “grounded theory” stands for a methodology, research program, and method of qualitative research. In a narrower but also more practical sense the term describes a qualitative technique of text analysis comparable to qualitative content analysis (→  Content Analysis, Qualitative ) and →  discourse analysis. Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss introduced grounded theory as a general research program for developing substantial (specific) or formal (general) theory by starting without (too) many assumptions and working immediately with the “data” (mostly text material) – this is what the term “grounded” refers to (→  Qualitative Methodology ). Three observations are important to understand grounded theory adequately. First, several misunderstandings stem from the fact that the approach uses terms known from quantitative research in a totally different way. For instance, its authors speak of “data” not in the sense of a quantitative dataset, but in the sense of text (→  Text and Intertextuality ) and even any material (“all is data”). Or authors speak of →  coding not in the sense of measuring quantitatively but in the sense of summarizing and structuring, e.g., interview transcripts. Second, Glaser and Strauss have walked different paths since their collaboration and their seminal book, published in 1967. Glaser still favors a strategy of strict induction and emergence ... log in or subscribe to read full text