Issue no.1, November 2005
Staying Open: The use of theoretical codes in grounded theory
By Barney G. Glaser, PhD., Hon. PhD. with the assistance of Judith A. Holton Abstract 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 preconceived forcing on the theory under development. I...Keeping My Ways of Being: Middleaged women dealing with the passage th...
By Helene Ekström, Johanna Esseveld and Birgitta Hovelius Abstract 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 were sources of uncertainty for the women. The process, Keeping My Ways of Being, emerged in the analysis as the pattern of behavior through which the women endeavored to resolve their uncertainty. The...Weathering Change: Coping in a context of pervasive organizational cha...
By Michael A. Raffanti, Ed.D., J.D. Abstract 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...Achieving Rigour and Relevance in Information Systems Studies: Using g...
By Walter D Fernández, Ph.D. and Hans Lehmann, Ph.D. Abstract 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...