Grounded Theory

Definition

Anthropologists collect a large amount of text from their field work, such as interview transcripts, participant observation notes, and oral history records. The method of grounded theory requires anthropologists to find key topics in a set of texts in order to develop hypotheses. This inductive method is especially useful when researchers try to discover patterns of behavior or thought in a particular group of people. Grounded theory is one of the most-used methods in analyzing written materials, especially interview transcripts. In addition, the opposite approach of grounded theory is a deductive one, where anthropologists first shape hypotheses and test them on a set of texts. They use either approach depending on their research purposes.  

Process

Click the example of the grounded theory method used by a research team at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The research team interviewed students enrolled in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program and investigated factors of dropout and sporadic attendance. The following steps explain how grounded theory worked in finding reasons for absenteeism from the texts produced from interviews.

1.      Read through a sample of texts. Identify topics and highlight them. This marking depends on researchers’ ideas and interpretations relevant to their research purposes.

2.      Categorize topics according to their underlying concepts. The figure below shows such categories as LACKING SENSE OF OBLIGATION, UNMET NEEDS, BOREDOM, HEALTH PROBLEM, CHILDCARE, TRANSPORTATION, EMPLOYMENT, and APPOINTMENT.

3.      As categories of topics take shape, note them in the text.

4.      Think about how categories are related to each other and organize them into theoretical models. In the figure below, categories are organized by the origins of reason such as INDIVIDUAL, CLASSROOM, HOME, and COMMUNITY.

5.      Compare organized models with the whole texts, especially against those cases that do not fit the models. It is important to examine negative cases because a complete model should include the full range of variation.    

6.      Confirm the validity of a model by testing it on a new sample. For example, researchers can test their model by presenting it to other students that they did not previously interview.

7.      Finally, write the results in reports. Besides displaying a model, include quotes from interview transcripts in order to show the link between the conclusion and original interviews. The figure below shows this information on the left side. 

In conclusion, this is the main point of grounded theory: “Data do not speak for themselves. You have to develop your ideas about what’s going on, state those ideas clearly, and illustrate them with selected quotes from your respondents.” (Bernard 2002: 473) The format of the figure below was adapted from the example in Research Methods in Anthropology (Bernard 2002: 472).  

Source:

• Bernard, Russell H. 2002 Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.

This page was created by a Minnesota State University, Mankato student. Last updated 11/14/04.