Volume 5, issue no.1, November 2005
Volume 5, Issue no. 1, November 2005
Staying Open: The use of theoretical codes in grounded theory Barney G. Glaser with the assistance of Judith Holton
Keeping My Ways of Being: Middle-aged women dealing with the passage through menopause Helene Ekstrom, Johanna Esseveld & Brigitta Hovelius
Weathering Change: Coping in a context of pervasive change Michael A. Raffanti
Achieving Rigour and Relevance in Information Systems Studies: Using grounded theory to investigate organizational cases Walter D. Fernandez and Hans Hehmann
Staying Open: The use of theoretical codes in grounded theory Barney G. Glaser with the assistance of Judith Holton
Theoretical codes (TCs) are abstract models that emerge during the sorting and memoing stages of grounded theory (GT) analysis. They conceptualize the integration of substantive codes as hypotheses of a theory. In this article, I explore the importance of their emergence in the development of a grounded theory and I discuss the challenge of the researcher in staying open to their emergence and earned relevance rather than their pre-conceived forcing on the theory under development. I emphasize the importance of GT researchers developing theoretical sensitivity to a wide range of theoretical perspectives and their associated codes. It is a skill that all GT researchers can and should develop.
Keeping My Ways of Being: Middle-aged women dealing with the passage through menopause Helene Ekstrom, Johanna Esseveld & Brigitta Hovelius
The meanings given to menopause by women themselves are often left aside. In this grounded theory study, based on interviews and on open-ended questions in questionnaires answered by middle-aged women, the authors found that not being able to know what would happen and what influence menopause would have on them as individuals were sources of uncertainty. A theory of a general pattern of behaviour emerged, Keeping my ways of being, resolving the uncertainties involved. The intensity of the process and the use of its three different stages, those of Preserving present ways of being, Limiting changes and Reappraising, were considered to be dependent upon the central Personal calculation process, in which the women used their individual explanatory beliefs and evaluations of need. The theory used as a model of thinking in consultations with middle-aged women might show a high degree of workability in explaining what is going on.
Weathering Change: Coping in a context of pervasive change Michael A. Raffanti
This study of organizational change was conducted using classic grounded theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Most of the relevant data came from open-ended intensive interviews with educators—classroom teachers, professional developers, learning specialists, administrators, and student teachers. Theoretical sampling was also done in organizational settings such as businesses, nonprofits, and religious institutions. The theory of weathering accounts for how organizational members continually resolve their main concern of survival in the face of pervasive change. Weathering is a basic social-psychological process that enables individuals to endure changes in a manner consistent with their personal and professional needs, goals, and values. In the sizing-up phase, an individual initially confronts an impending organizational change. In the filtering phase, one decides how to cope with the change by processing the information through personal and professional filters. The outcome of filtering determines the behaviors exhibited in the coping stage. Coping is a set of behaviors that are best characterized as resisting and acquiescing. The study suggests that leaders consider the complexities of weathering behaviours as they seek to implement organizational changes.
Achieving Rigour and Relevance in Information Systems Studies: Using grounded theory to investigate organizational cases Walter D. Fernandez and Hans Hehmann
This paper builds on the belief that rigorous Information Systems (IS) research can help practitioners to better understand and to adapt to emerging situations. Contrary to the view seeing rigour and relevance as a dichotomy, it is maintained that IS researchers have a third choice; namely, to be both relevant and rigorous. The paper proposes ways in which IS research can contribute to easing the practitioners’ burden of adapting to changes by providing timely, relevant, and rigorous research. It is argued that synergy between relevance and rigour is possible and that classic Grounded Theory methodology in combination with case-based data provides a good framework for rigorous and relevant research of emerging phenomena in information systems.
