From the Editor’s Desk

Research Publishing: The Unique Value of The Grounded Theory Review A few weeks ago, I received an email from a colleague who had submitted a paper to a highly regarded, high impact journal. The study was well designed and well described as a classic grounded theory. As often happens, a peer reviewer for the journal was not familiar with the tenets and procedures of classic grounded theory. Since research methods, procedures, and language vary among the varieties of classic and remodeled grounded theory methods are not interchangeable with those of classic grounded...

Staying Open: The Use of Theoretical Codes in Grounded Theory

By Barney G. Glaser, PhD., Hon. PhD. with the assistanceof 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...

The Logic and Language of Classic Grounded Theory: Induction, Abductio...

Alvita Nathaniel, PhD, West Virginia University Abstract Although it is not clearly understood by many, classic grounded theory utilizes deduction, induction, and abduction as the necessary logic functions of the research process. Glaser’s described the forms of logic—induction, abduction, and deduction—but referred to them as conceptualization, theoretical coding, and theoretical sampling. Induction begins with data and produces concepts, which are the building blocks of grounded theory. Employing abduction, the analyst infers relationships among the concepts to develop...

Developing a Classic Grounded Theory Research Study Protocol: A Primer...

Kara L. Vander Linden, Glaser Center for Grounded Theory, Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies, United States Patrick A. Palmieri, South American Center for Qualitative Research, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Perú; College of Graduate Health Studies, A.T. Still University, United States Abstract The research study protocol is a roadmap for conducting research systematically, efficiently, and ethically. While protocols have standard components, a classic grounded theory protocol differs in its methods, including processes and procedures, because of the uniqueness...

Following suit: Why some choose to remodel the grounded theory methodo...

Y. Wang, School of Nursing, Fujian Medical University Z. Shi, Faculty of Business and Management, Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College H. Li, School of Journalism and Communication, Northwest University F. Fei, Grounded Theory Institute Abstract Given the rapid surge in the number of studies claiming the adoption and use of the grounded theory (GT) methodology in China over the past two decades or so, we can now confirm that virtually all studies haven’t been at all conducted in accordance with the GT methodology including...

Building a Classic Grounded Theory: Some Reflections

Lee Yarwood-Ross, University of Wolverhampton Kirsten Jack, Manchester Metropolitan University Abstract This article focuses on some of our reflections of using processes inherent within classic grounded theory methodology to build knowledge surrounding military personnel who experienced combat-related limb-loss from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. We conclude that instead of adding to the issue of mixing different grounded theory perspectives, researchers should instead follow guidance from one approach to avoid becoming perplexed as each strand produces a different...