Grounded theory and the constant comparative method. The grounded theory method was developed by two sociologists, barney glaser and anselm strauss. Throughout this collaboration, glaser and strauss questioned the appropriateness of using a scientific method of verification for this study. Defining the constant comparison method qdatraining. Nov 29, 2008 the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis posted on nov 29, 2008 in issue no. Strategies for qualitative research was published and represented a breakthrough in qualitative research. This article explores the use of grounded theory to generate conceptualizations of emergent social patterns in research data. The constant comparative analysis method outside of. Glaser and strauss 1967 suggest that when used to generate theory, the comparative analytical method they describe can be applied to social units of any size. The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Constant comparative methodology incorporates four stages. Grounded theory is introduced as an inductive, comparative methodology that provides systematic guidelines for gathering, synthesizing, analyzing, and conceptualizing qualitative data for the purpose of theory construction. Discovery of grounded theory strategies for qualitative. The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis currently analyzing qualitative data usually involves coding the data to get some quantifiable means to test some hypotheses.
The justification of this paper is to provide discussion on the validity of grounded theory and the constant comparative method as effective research strategies for educators. In 1967 glaser and strauss s the discovery of grounded theory. The constant comparative method discovers the latent pattern in the multiple participants words, such as, for example, pain leveling provided by dental. Pdf grounded theory was developed by glaser and strauss who believed that theory could emerge through qualitative data analysis. The essential methods of grounded theory research, beginning with glaser and strauss s seminal work in 1967, are described.
Specifically, data collection and analysis are parallel in grounded theory, and the procedure is neither linear nor sequential. The contant comparative method is a method for analyzing data in order to develop a grounded theory. Analytical strategy using the constant comparative method. Strauss, 1987 is illustrated using data from a study of three preservice secondary. The process of constant comparison continues until a theory with suf. In the first approach, investigators code data and crudely quantify the codes in an attempt to prove a theoretical proposition1. Pdf grounded theory and the constant comparative method.
The researcher uses the strategies of the making constant comparisons and applying theoretical sampling to obtain a theory grounded in the data. Glaser and strauss advocate combining coding with analysis to help locate and build grounded theory. This back and forth movement between data collection and analysis is sometimes called an iteration. The constant comparative method, which can be seen as the core category of grounded theory, includes that every part of data, i.
The constant comparative method discovers the latent pattern in the multiple. Grounded theory was pretty revolutionary, as it switched up the order of the scientific method in that data collection precedes the formation of theorieshypotheses. The constant comparative method is an inductive data coding process used for categorizing and comparing qualitative data for analysis purposes. Grounded theory methodology has it become a movement. The grounded theory method has been modified by the era within which it exists and by new ideas encountered in the world of inquiry annells. May 11, 2015 grounded theory has two unique characteristics. History history of kj method kj method is a popular research method, a problemsolving tool.
The constant comparative method ccm together with theoretical sampling constitute the core of qualitative analysis in the grounded theory approach developed by glaser and strauss glaser and strauss, 1967. The constant comparative method ccm together with theoretical sampling constitutethe core of qualitative analysis in the grounded theory approach and in other types ofqualitative research. Constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Throughout the four stages of the constant comparative method, the researcher. Jan 02, 2019 throughout this collaboration, glaser and strauss questioned the appropriateness of using a scientific method of verification for this study. There are four stages in the constant comparative method glaser and strauss 1967. This involves the researcher moving in and out of the data collection and analysis process. Sabinet grounded theory and the constant comparative. The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis authors. Constant co mparative analysis entails an iterative process of concurrent data collection and analysis, which involves the systematic choice and study of several comparison groups glaser strauss, 1967, p. To aid the readers grasp on the cc method i have copied at the end of this book my original paper on the constant comparative method first published in social problems, 1965, two years before the discovery of gt was published where it is republished. In a 1965 article explaining the use of his constant comparative method which was later renamed grounded theory, glaser recognized a split between two forms qualitative research.
Glaser och strauss samarbetade i en studie om doende patienter pa sjukhus i kalifornien och borjade da tillampa the constant comparative method, som senare kom att kallas grounded theory. Glaser and anselm strauss, the social loss of dying patients, american journal of nursing, 64 june, 1964 pp. The grouping of the diverse conditions of strauss and glaser, whereas functioning jointly during the early 1960s, created the constant comparative method presently recognized as grounded theory glaser and. Compare and contrast of grounded theory and kj method the discovery book, and because glaser was an originator of grounded theory, it is appropriate to choose for comparison. In the discovery of grounded theory, barney glaser and anselm strauss address the equally important enterprise of how the discovery of theory from datasystematically obtained and analyzed in social researchcan be. The constant comparative method glaser and strauss 1967 maintain that there are three general approaches to qualitative research. Jul 05, 2017 most writing on sociological method has been concerned with how accurate facts can be obtained and how theory can thereby be more rigorously tested. Incidents or data are compared to other incidents or data during the process of coding. Compare and contrast of grounded theory and kj method. A purposeful approach to the constant comparative method. This study contributes to a purposeful approach of the ccm in order.
Incidents are compared to incidents to establish underlying uniformity and its varying conditions. Furthermore, glaser acquired training in explication of text at the university of paris glaser, 1998. At this stage of qualitative analysis, the analyst possess coded data, a series of memos, and a theory. Varying views of what reality is and how it can be known affect the modes of the grounded theory method. Since its first publication in 1965, the constant comparative method has been a key concept in the development and understanding of grounded theory glaser, 2001 3. Constant comparison, constant comparative analysis, theoretical framework, conceptual. The naming of patterns and their abstraction across time, place and people, are discussed. The grounded theory approach involves constant comparative analysis or what has come to be called the constant comparative method. Glaser and strauss ultimately parted ways resulting in a theoretical divorce of a magnitude rarely seen in. My naturalistic inquiry model shows how conceptual.
Glaser and strauss 1967 and lincoln and guba 1985 propose different versions or models of the constant comparative method for analyzing qualitative data. Reducing confusion about grounded theory and qualitative. Most writing on sociological method has been concerned with how accurate facts can be obtained and how theory can thereby be more rigorously tested. Jan 19, 2018 to aid the readers grasp on the cc method i have copied at the end of this book my original paper on the constant comparative method first published in social problems, 1965, two years before the discovery of gt was published where it is republished. Sabinet grounded theory and the constant comparative method. Pdf a purposeful approach to the constant comparative method. As the theory develops, various delimiting features of the constant comparative method begin to curb what could otherwise become an overwhelming task. In the second approach, researchers are interested only. Advantages and disadvantages abstract there are many challenges and criticisms attached to the conduct of research, none the least of which is a notion that much of the research undertaken in professional disciplines such as nursing may not have clinical andor practical relevance. Rwjf qualitative research guidelines project grounded. Fit and relevance how well do the categories relate to the data and derives from constant comparison and conceptualisation of the data. The constant comparative method centred on data was meant to ensure this with both glaser and strauss professing to remain committed to the method but differing in the way in which it is used.
Jun 15, 2012 the defining characteristics of grounded theory include. Glaser and strauss, for example, are viewed as critical realists operating in a postpositivist paradigm benoliel, 2001. The publication of their book, the discovery of grounded theory 1967, was a breakthrough because of the systematic procedures for. Glasers critique of strauss and corbins reworked method underscored the methodological fission which over time had yielded two quite different approaches to gtm, each with its own set of epistemological assumptions, methodological. The constant comparative method employed in grounded data. Glaser, phd, hon phd, the grounded theory institute. Glaser, and jeanne quint, the nonaccountability of terminal care, hospitals, 36 jan. During this investigation, they developed the constant comparative method, a key element of grounded theory, while generating a theory of dying first described in awareness of dying 1965. This commentary addresses the gap in the literature regarding discussion of the legitimate use of constant comparative analysis method cca outside of grounded theory. Remodeling grounded theory glaser forum qualitative. Developed by sociologists barney glaser and anselm strauss in 1965, it is usually associated with the methodology of. Approximately 40 years ago, barney glaser and anselm strauss and their joint research approach, the constant comparative method of grounded theory, were at the forefront of what can be called a qualitative revolution. On our initial reading of the seminal grounded theory texts glaser, 1978, 1992. The constant comparative method is an inductive data coding process used for categorizing and.
The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis posted on nov 29, 2008 in issue no. Constant comparative method of qualitative analysis social. Grounded theory was developed by glaser and strauss who believed that theory could emerge through qualitative data analysis. The purpose is to show the strength of using cca to maintain the emic perspective and how theoretical frameworks can maintain the etic perspective throughout the analysis. Grounded theory has its own criteria for assessing the rigour or quality of the study glaser 1978. The grounded theory method and case study data in is. In grounded theory, the researcher uses multiple stages of collecting, refining, and categorizing the data. In this research they developed the constant comparative method, later known as grounded theory.
Grounded theory and the constant comparative method citeseerx. Comparison is also the dominant principle of the analysis process in other tradi. Comparison is also the dominant principle of the analysis process in other traditions of qualitative research. Grounded theory aka the constant comparative method. I and my gt colleagues have had 43 years of experience in using the cc method. The core category in grounded theory is, as i see it, the constant comparative method. Oct 29, 2016 the researcher uses the strategies of the making constant comparisons and applying theoretical sampling to obtain a theory grounded in the data. These methods include concurrent data collection and analysis, coding of data into concepts and categories, the use of interpretative frameworks, theoretical sampling, memoing, and the integration of categories into grounded. The methodology adopted by this study is based on the constant comparative method according to maykut and morehouse 1994 who draw on the work of glaser and strauss 1967 and lincoln and guba 1985 in their development of this methodological framework. Although the constant comparative approach predates grounded theory glaser and strauss.
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