From the Editor’s Desk

We are pleased to publish this December 2019 issue of the Grounded Theory Review, an online journal dedicated to supporting those who conduct classic grounded theory research.  First developed by Glaser and Strauss in the early 1960s and further established by Glaser in the intervening years, classic grounded theory is a unique method of discovering never before recognized processes and patterns of human behavior. This issue includes three papers that discuss educational issues surrounding the method and four original classic grounded theories. Preserving Autonomy: A Cry...

Preserving Autonomy: The Cry for Help

Barney G. Glaser Editor’s note:  Preserving Autonomy was first published in Glaser’s 2016, The Cry for Help: Preserving Autonomy Doing GT Research and re-published as the first chapter in Glaser’s 2019 Chapter One: A Grounded Theory Review Reader, both published by Sociology Press.  Preserving Autonomy has been lightly edited for clarity and context. The most desirable cry for help is a specific question requiring only a direct specific answer.  However, this seldom occurs in over half the cries for help.  Most requests are not that simple nor answers that brief.  In this...

How Classic Grounded Theorists Teach the Method

Alvita Nathaniel Contributing Authors in Alphabetical Order:  Tom Andrews, Toke Barfod, Ólavur Christiansen, Evelyn Gordon, Markko Hämäläinen, Agnes Higgins, Judith Holton, Tina Johnston, Andy Lowe, Susan Stillman, Odis Simmons, Hans Thulesius, Kara Vander Linden, Helen Scott Grounded theory upsets PhD students’ world view.  By the time they reach the classroom to learn grounded theory, research, to them, usually means deductively verifying established propositions. In quantitative research courses, they learned that they must design research that can be objectively...

Teaching Qualitative Research: Versions of Grounded Theory

Andrew P. Carlin, University of Macau Younhee H. Kim, University of Macau Abstract This paper concerns the teaching and iteration of Grounded Theory, taking published accounts referring to Grounded Theory as instructional materials on the workings of Grounded Theory. The paper identifies problems associated with later versions of Grounded Theory that are anticipated and avoided in The Discovery of Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). It alerts practitioners and students to theoretical options in doing research. Based on a critical incident analysis of literatures...

Neutralizing Prejudices

Rúni Johannesen Abstract This study presents a social profile of a tolerant and global ideological behavior. The in-group-behavior revolves around enforcing the tolerant virtue and rooting out and eliminating prejudiced attitudes that affect minorities and the collective environment. The main concern is conceptualized as “enabling a nonjudgmental environment” for oneself and others. The recurrent solution to this concern is “neutralizing prejudices.” Neutralizing prejudices is a means to engage and deal with prejudiced oppression and prejudice-related behavior. Mindsets...

Seeking to Do What’s Best for Baby: A Grounded Theory

Karen Jagiello, James Madison University Abstract The purpose of this classic grounded theory study was to develop a theory of how rural breastfeeding women respond to their main concern associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for infants through the first six months of life. Mothers living in rural U.S. communities exclusively breastfeed less frequently than their urban counterparts. The theory Seeking to Do What’s Best for Baby emerged from the data and describes the process that mothers work through to do what is best for their...