About the Authors

Daniel P. Ash is a British criminologist and senior lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire.  He specializes in the development and application of theory in policing, novel research methods, the use of data science techniques to understand and develop operational policing practice, and policing innovation (in its broadest sense). He was formerly a British police officer, serving for twenty years with Northamptonshire Police, working in a variety of multi-agency operational contexts. Email: dash@glos.ac.uk

Tom Andrews, PhD, is a Lecturer Emeritus in Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Cork, Ireland. He was trained in Classic GT by Dr. Barney Glaser, who also took part in his Viva Voce.  Tom lectured in research methods on post-graduate courses as well as teaching critical care to undergraduate and post-graduate students.  He has extensive experience in supervising and examining PhD students using Classic GT as well as conducting classic grounded theory troubleshooting seminars based on the model developed by Dr. Glaser. Tom is a fellow of the GT Institute and has several peer reviewed publications in journals. He continues to be active in the methodology of Classic GT and is currently collaborating in organising an international conference in Grounded Theory.   Email: t.andrews@ucc.ie

Barry Chametzky, Ph.D. American College of Education. Dr. Chametzky holds graduate degrees in Music (Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, City University of New York), French (Middlebury College), and Foreign Language education (University of Pittsburgh).  Dr. Chametzky is an active researcher in the fields of andragogy, e-learning, anxiety and online foreign language acquisition, and classic grounded theory with numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters to his credit.  He is also one of the reviewers and the copyeditor for the Grounded Theory Review.  He facilitates online learning with master’s and doctoral students in the fields of educational technology and leadership, and serves as a dissertation chairperson to a number of candidates. Email: barry@bluevine.net

Ólavur Christiansen, PhD, is candidate in economics (cand. polit.) from the University of Copenhagen in 1977, and candidate in sociology (cand. scient. soc.) from the University of Copenhagen in 1983.  He received his PhD from Aalborg University in 2007 (a study of “opportunizing” in business).  He has mainly had a career within the governmental sector, but also within the private sector (bank auditing, market analysis). From 2013 to January 2022, he was General Secretary of the Economic Council of the Government of Faroe Islands.  The latter job was a full-time job.  From January 2022, Ólavur has been Associate Professor Emeritus at the  University of Faroe Islands.

Astrid Gynnild is a Professor PhD of Media Studies,  Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen, Norway. She is Head of the Journalism Research Group, and works at the intersection of journalism innovation, new technologies, and creative processes. She was Editor of the Grounded Theory Review 2012-2018 and is now a reviewer of the journal. Astrid is a Fellow of the Grounded Theory Institute.

Judith A. Holton is Associate Professor Emerita at Mount Allison University, Canada.  Judith completed her PhD in Management Studies at the University of Northampton, UK. Her research interests include grounded theory research methodology, leadership and management of complex systems, and learning and innovation in knowledge work.  She is a Fellow of the Grounded Theory Institute, former Editor of The Grounded Theory Review, and was a frequent collaborator and co-author with Barney Glaser. Judith has published in several academic journals including Management Learning, Organizational Research Methods, Journal of Organizational Change Management, and The Grounded Theory Review. She is co-author with Isabelle Walsh of Classic Grounded Theory: Applications with Qualitative and Quantitative Data (Sage, 2017) and with Isabelle Walsh and Gaetan Mourmant of Conducting Classic Grounded Theory for Business and Management Students (Sage, 2019). She is also a contributor to The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory (2007), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Business and Management Research Methods (2018) and The Sage Handbook of Current Developments in Grounded Theory (2019).  Her paper, “What grounded theory is . . . A critically reflective conversation among scholars”, co-authored with Isabelle Walsh, Lotte Bailyn, Walter Fernandez, Natalia Levina and Barney Glaser, won the Academy of Management Research Methods Division Best Paper Award in 2015.

Dr. Kara Vander Linden is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, mentor, and lifelong learner.  She is the founder and president of the Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies and the Director of the Glaser Center for Grounded Theory. She teaches research and supervises classic grounded theory dissertations at Saybrook University.  She is a peer reviewer for the Grounded Theory ReviewBMC Nursing, and Nursing Open.  Dr. Vander Linden earned a doctorate in education from Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara, CA) with specializations in classic grounded theory and higher education. She earned a master’s in special education from the University of North Carolina (Charlotte, NC) and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Queens University (Charlotte, NC).

Andy Lowe has a PhD from Glasgow University in Scotland and an MBA from Aston University in England.  The first half of his working life was in managerial positions in international service companies based in Europe and the US.  He has had a close working relationship with Barney for the last 30 years.  In the second half of his working life, as an academic, he has delivered GT research seminars and supervised PhDs all using the GT method in the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, South and Central America and Australia.  He has held academic positions in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Finland.  He is currently an external academic auditor for the EU Legitimation of Newness and its impact on EU agenda for change [LNETN] project.  He is the joint author of a new title to be published by Macmillan in winter 2023 called The Art of Theory Building”.

Dr. Gordon Medlock is a scholar-practitioner with over 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist, coaching psychologist, and human capital management consultant. He is currently Director of Doctoral Research at the Wright Graduate University for the Realization of Human Potential. He has been published in the areas of existential and humanistic psychology and grounded theory and has been trained and mentored by Odis Simmons and Bob Wright in classic grounded theory methodology. He has a PhD in philosophy from Yale University, a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago, and is an ICF-PCC level coach. He is currently co-chair of the research committee of the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching, where he is involved in clarifying academic and practice standards for graduate level coach education. Email: gordon@wrightgrad.edu

Alvita Nathaniel, PhD, is the Editor of The Grounded Theory Review, an open access online journal focusing solely on classic grounded theory.  Dr. Nathaniel is Professor Emerita and past department chair at West Virginia University School of Nursing. Mentored by Barney Glaser, Nathaniel continues with grounded theory initiatives. In addition to her grounded theory publications, she co-authored the nursing textbook, Ethics & Issues in Contemporary Nursing, which is now approaching its 6th edition. Writing the ethics textbook led to her grounded theory research on moral reckoning, which she continues to pursue along with additional scholarship focusing on the two main foci of classic grounded theory and nursing ethics. She is Fellow of the Grounded Theory Institute, Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and Fellow of the West Virginia University Academy of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Email: anathaniel@hsc.wvu.edu

Odis Simmons was one of Glaser and Strauss’ first-generation Ph.D. students in the graduate program in sociology at the University of California, San Francisco. He has extensive experience at mentoring, teaching, and supervising grounded theory students from multiple academic and practicing professions. He is the originator of grounded action and grounded therapy. He has served on the faculties of The University of Tulsa, Yale University and Fielding Graduate University. He is now happily retired from these positions, but not from grounded theory. Email: osimm@comcast.net

Dr. Bob Wright, EdD, MCC studied CGT under Dr. Simmons and did his action dissertation using CGT principles applied to Grounded Leadership, an invaluable aid in the transformational leader’s toolbox. He is a visionary educator and internationally recognized best-selling author of five books. Co-founder of the accredited Wright Graduate University offering MBAs, MAs, and doctoral degrees. Wright’s Integrative Model of Human Development provides a much-needed practical application of theory into everyday life, helping people understand themselves, strategize, and take action to reach their potential. He applied CGT to his model of emergence coaching, and earned his BA in Sociology, an MA in Communications, an MSW in Clinical Social Work, and an EdD in Education, Leadership, and Change.

Dr. Judith Wright, best-selling author of five books, Judith Wright, EdD rose to national prominence leading initial federal barrier free college and federal cutting-edge early childhood education programs where she was director of clinical programs for the Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities pioneering transdisciplinary service delivery. Chief Academic officer for the Wright Graduate University. Dr. Wright earned her doctorate and CGT specialization certificate under Odis Simmons and Tony Gregory who formed the core of her dissertation committee. The subsequent ten-year grounded theory research initiative she conducted explores the process of and components for living a great life, and this research forms the basis for the theory of Evolating which has informed curriculum impacting thousands of people. Dr. Wright holds a BA in psychology, an MA and an EdD in education.

Dr. Mike Zwell is Chancellor and co-founder of the Wright Graduate University for the Realization of Human Potential and Professor of Transformational Coaching. He is also Managing Director of the Human Emergence Group. The author of three books and many articles, he is also Founder and Director of the Wright Foundation’s Emergence Coach Training, an ICF Accredited Coach Training Program. He is President of GSAEC, the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching. He received a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University and is a globally recognized competency and talent management expert who has helped hundreds of organizations achieve their potential and fulfill their mission by developing systems, processes, and people.

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