Coding and Grounded Theory
Dr. Liliana CUESTA MEDINA
2017
Grounded theory
Originally (Glaser & Strauss 1960s) claimed
to be ‘scientific method’, replacing
traditional criteria for reliability/validity
with ‘fit, understanding, generality,
control’.
Features of a comprehensive grounded
theory analysis
• inductive theory-building (in place of
quantification/verification)
• iterative process of theoretical sampling
and analysis, leading to saturation (i.e.
point where collecting further data from
new respondents will not yield new
information, alter analysis)
Source: www.psychology.soton.ac.uk/researchmethods
Techniques of grounded
theory
• Open and in vivo coding – grounding the
analysis in the participants’ words
• Constant comparison (between instances
of codes in different contexts, between
different codes etc.)
• Questioning
– Why do the participants act as they do?
–What does this focus mean?
–What else do I want to know?
–What new ideas have emerged?
–Is this new information?
Source: www.psychology.soton.ac.uk/researchmethods
Strategies
• Memoing – creating a paper trail of your
thought processes
• Diagramming (also ref. thematic networks:
Attride-Stirling (2001).
More on Corbin & Strauss (2008).
Constant Comparison Method
Two processes: Theoretical coding and memoing
Theoretical coding
Done to form theoretical linkages between categories
Jackson & Verberg (2007). Methods: Doing Social Research
Concept Modification and
Integration
Theoretical memoing
• These are the researcher’s ideas about the codes
and categories and the relationship among them
• Three roles
– To raise the data to a conceptual level
– To develop the properties of each category
– To generate hypotheses about the relationships
between categories
Jackson & Verberg (2007). Methods: Doing Social Research
Techniques of grounded
theory cont.
• From open, axial coding (create
abstract codes from lower level codes,
establish their properties and interrelations) to selective coding
• Diagramming the relationship between
codes
• Verifying the analysis
• Creating a story (often with a timeline)
Source: www.psychology.soton.ac.uk/researchmethods
Techniques of grounded
theory
One technique for data interpretation (Wolcott,
2001).
– Extend the analysis by raising questions
– Connect findings to personal experiences
– Seek the advice of “critical” friends.
– Contextualize findings in the research
• Converging evidence?
– Turn to theory
Other Strategies
• Concept Mapping
– Analyzing Antecedents and Consequences
– Displaying Findings
– Stating what’s missing
Illness
Social Skills
Absenteeism
School
Safety
Levels of Coding
Four stages, four terms
• Codes: Identifying anchors that allow the key
points of the data to be gathered.
• Concepts: Collections of codes of similar
content that allows the data to be grouped.
• Categories: Broad groups of similar concepts
that are used to generate a theory.
• Theory: A collection of explanations that
explain the subject/topic of the research.
Coding tips
• Learn about coding approaches
(Ritchie and Lewis 2003, Corbin and
Strauss, 2008)
• Make a keen open coding selection
fragment
• Check frequently to see whether the
code list can be reduced (i.e. avoid empty
codes)
• When dealing with excerpts/memos:
Do not select too little text (‘yes, that’s true’ is
not enough!; add question as to not lose too much context)
Sample
Source: Linguapolis Summer School package, Antwerp, Belgium, 2010
Data analysis after
collection Summarizing
“The first time you sit down with your data is the
only time you come to that particular set fresh”(Krathwohl, D. R.,1998).
– Reading and memoing
• Read and write memos about field notes.
– Describing
• Develop comprehensive descriptions of setting,
participants, etc.
– Classifying
• Breaking data into analytic units.
• Categories
• Themes (see Corbin & Strauss, 2008)
Data analysis strategies
• Identifying themes
– Begin with big picture and list “themes” that
emerge.
• Events that keep repeating themselves
• Coding qualitative data
– Reduce data to a manageable form
– Often done by writing notes on note cards
and sorting into themes.
• Predetermined categories vs. emerging
categories
How to make coding
manageable
• Make photocopies/back-ups of original data
– Why?
• Read through all of the data.
– Attach working labels to blocks of text
• Cut and paste blocks of text onto index cards.
• Group cards that have similar labels together
• Revisit piles of cards to see if clusters still hold
together.
• Consider using Nvivo™ or AtlasTi™ software.
Tips for Analysis
Source: Linguapolis Summer School package, Antwerp, Belgium, 2010
• Re-read memos from while you are encoding
• Look for similarities & differences (quality above quantity)
• No info about a respondent in an analysis? Go back to the
instrument!
– Not enough questions?
– Forgot to encode?
– Missing?
• ‘Between the lines’/intuition -> is there proof?
• Support: between respondents /within respondents
QDA Software available
• QDA Miner
• QDA Max
• Atlas Ti.
http://onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/Step_by_step_software/Atlas.ti/
http://provalisresearch.com/products/qualitative-data-analysissoftware/
http://www.maxqda.com/
Thank you!
This session was brought to you by…
Liliana Cuesta
[email protected]
Department of Foreign Languages & Cultures
Universidad de La Sabana
Chía, Colombia
References
 Attride-Stirling, J. (2001). Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research.
Qualitative Research, 1(3), 385-405.
 Breakwell, S., Hammond , S. & Fife-Schaw, C. Research methods in Psychology (2nd
Ed.). Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage Publications Ltd.
 Brewerton, P. & Millward, L.(2001). Organizational Research Methods: A Guide foror
Students and Researchers. United Kingdom, Sage Publications Ltd.
Burns, A. (2010).Doing action research in English language teaching, a guide for
practitioners. New York: Routledge.
 Cuesta, L. (2014). Carrying out a sound needs analysis. Unpublished manuscript,
Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007).Research methods in education. Taylor &
Francis (6thed.).
Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2008).Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory
procedures and techniques. Sage Publications, Inc. 3rd edition.
Creswell, J. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating
Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Fourth Edition. Boston: Pearson Education.
References

Charmaz, K. (2003). Grounded theory. In Smith, J.A. (ed.), Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to
Research Methods. London: Sage.

Krueger, R. A. 1988. Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.http://www.eiu.edu/~ihec/Krueger-FocusGroupInterviews.pdf

Mills, G. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Merrill Prentice Hall.

Krueger, R., and M.A. Casey, 2000. Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research (3rd
edition). Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.

Hancock, B. (1998). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. University of Nottingham: Trent Focus
Group. Retrieved from
http://faculty.cbu.ca/pmacintyre/course_pages/MBA603/MBA603_files/IntroQualitativeResearch.p
df

House, R., and K. Howe, 1999. Values in Evaluation and Social Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Marczak, M., and Sewell, M. (2007). Using Focus Groups for Evaluation . Retrieved from
<http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/cyfernet/cyfar/focus.htm>[08June 2011] Marketing News (1995), 27

Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (1994). Introduction: Entering the field of qualitative research. In N. Denzin &
Y. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 1-17). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. (pp. 169-186). Beverly Hills, CA:
Sage. Designing Qualitative Studies.

Prince, M., and Davies, M. (2001).Moderator teams: an extension to focus group methodology.
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 4 (4) 207-216.

Prince, M., and Davies, M. (2003) Define and refine: How focus groups can help questionnaire
References

Hatch, J. A. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany: State University of New
York Press.

Marczak, M., and Sewell, M. (2007) Using Focus Groups for Evaluation. Retrieved from
<http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/cyfernet/cyfar/focus.htm

Krathwohl, D. R. (1998). Methods of educational and social science research: an integrated approach
(Second ed.). New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc.

Saldaña, J. (2013). The coding manual of qualitative researchers. Los Angeles, Sage.

Verberg, N.& Jackson, W. Methods: Doing social research (4th ed.). Toronto: Prentice Hall.

Wade, S. (1990) Using think alouds to assess comprehension. The ReadingTeacher, 43 (7),442-451.

Wolcott, H. T. (2001). Writing up qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Excellent online guide on coding:

Ryan, G.W. and Bernard, H.R. (2003). Techniques to Identify Themes, Field Methods, 15(1). 85-109.