Grounded Theory

Theories help guide researchers with how they will interpret their data. Theories may lean more to one paradigm than another, however, there is one which has been labelled many things from paradigm, methodology and theory (Walsh, Holton, Bailyn, & et al., 2015). That theory is Grounded Theory. A historical account of its development, main assumptions and assessment of its value are provided. To contextualize Grounded Theory from an interdisciplinary perspective, workplace bullying in small, isolated organizations is proposed as a research topic. The merits and disadvantages of using Grounded Theory as the research method will also be discussed.

The grounded theory method is a method which allows counselors to understand the basis of the research in its full context; it can later be tested, and is usually used when there is little information is known about the subject in relation to counseling (Sheperis, C. J., Young, J. S., & Daniels, M. H. 2010). The grounded theory model was founded in the 1960’s by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. Glaser came from a positivist background where quantitative research was dominant and Strauss came from a strong background of qualitative research. Together, the formed the grounded theory method which focused on allowing data to lead to the development of a theory (Sheperis et al., 2010).

The approach of this study will take the epistemological position and a qualitative research design. Humphries (2008) asserts that qualitative research focusses on the subjective and recognises that the researcher will affect the data that is produced and therefore the outcome of the research. Denzin & Lincoln (2005:3) state that “Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them”. Quantitative research on the other hand, claims to be objective, removing the researcher’s views and values from the study. While traditionally quantitative data has been deemed to produce more reliable or valid data, it does not suffice to capture the complexities of the human experience as it assumes a positivist epistemology.

The ethnographic study - will help to understand a particular phenomenon and explain alternative realities which were projected by the participants of the study in a particular culture. This type of study is helping to build a substantive grounded theory

Qualitative approaches to research are approaches that depend on words as the primary source of data, as opposed to numbers. Qualitative research may also be called non-experimental research, since the investigations are more exploratory and do not require control or the manipulation of variables. There are several types of qualitative research approaches, for example grounded theory, phenomenological, generic inquiry, ethnography, and case studies. Non-experimental methods may include qualitative methods such as surveys, focus groups and interviews (Hacker, 2013). The purpose of this discussion is to carefully analyze

Since the researcher should follow a constant comparative method with the responses obtained, interviews are one of the best research approach to be adopted under this methodology. Additionally, it is with the use of interviews that the researcher can traverse through the theoretical codes of grounded theory that integrate the emerging theory with the research problems as depicted in Figure 2.

The Grounded Theory was developed in the 1960’s by two sociologists, Glaser and Strauss (Creswell, 2012). The theory offer a method to develop theoretical explanations of human behavior grounded in the data collected from those who exhibit such a behavior. The interview questions were developed to get a better understanding of how some view their life satisfaction and what might influence it as the purpose is to increase understanding of adult learners and to promote their well-being. That being mentioned, two of the interviews went on to a different direction to be more of leadership behavior and entrepreneurial behavior and what makes them successful.

A qualitative research method will be used to understand the perceptions of women and to form theoretical conceptualization based on how women in technology contribute to technological research. Specifically, the qualitative grounded theory is selected because this method can illustrate the casual and contextual elements of a phenomenon that are too complicated for other research methods (Yin, 2003). An emergent-grounded theory approach is utilized to handle the research question and sub-questions as well as to promote the finding of themes disclosed by participants (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The purpose of this study was to discover the ways in which individual’s environment, gender role beliefs, cultural norms, perceptions and aptitude, and

Newman and Benz (1998, 3) explain qualitative methods have the aim of developing a theory explaining what they have witnessed and investigated in their observations. Researchers can collect data already having set proposed and pre-determined questions and asking these questions in an interview setting or allowing the participant to write their answers on a test structured format (Creswell 2003, 17). Another method of research also includes interviews, group or singular, however taking either a more guided or free speech conversation (Tewksbury 2009, 43). Different from question based studies, qualitative researchers also acquire their information in the form of observation. This can occur in two ways, either they openly acknowledge and explain they are observing participants out in the field or observe in secret. This method can be described as a method of immersion (Tewksbury 2009, 54).

There are a number of different qualitative research approaches available to researchers which can provide a framework for their study to be conducted under. Many modern methods like interpretive and postmodern have followed in the footsteps of more traditional methods such as phenomenology. Historically, phenomenology as a research method has existed and evolved over the last two centuries, with Edmund Husserl being considered as the father of the research method and modern philosophy (Østergaard, Dahlin & Hugo 2008). The phenomenological movement emerged into the academic domain as a descriptive philosophical view which challenged analytical and deductive philosophies (Sanders 1982).

This research is a qualitative study using the phenomenological-hermenetic method. Parahoo (2006) states that qualitative research explores the individual’s beliefs and life experiences in order to gain an in depth-insight, and tries to understand human behaviours .Phenomenology focuses on people with lived experience which aims to find out the full picture of the participant’s own point of view during certain events in life. (Macnee, 2004).

According to Merriam (2002), methods of Ethnographic research include interviews, observations, and archival research. Through these methods, researchers are able to gather information on the shared activities and patterns of individuals (Creswell, 2007). Several procedures are necessary in order to conduct ethnographic research. The problem must be stated, a phenomenon of interest to study, gaining access, collecting data, phenomenological data analysis, gathering themes, and compiling the research information (Creswell, 2007).

Qualitative research is a broad term for exploratory methodologies described as ethnographic, anthropological, naturalistic, field or participant observation research. It addresses the significance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found in research. Relations between variables are essential parts of the research. Detailed data is collected through open ended questions from the respondents. The interviewer is a fundamental part of the research (Jacob, 1988).

Qualitative research plays an important role in evidenced-based practice. Qualitative research often lay down the platform for added official quantitative studies or a follow up to a broad quantitative study. Qualitative research is a subjective design that investigates exceptional life concepts in a naturalistic setting using narrative descriptions as the findings (Polit & Beck, 2017). There are six general types of qualitative research designs, namely phenomenological, ethnographic, historical, grounded theory, case study and action research, each one of these research design studies distinct human experiences phenomena (Polit & Beck, 2017). The phenomenological research design studies the human understanding or knowledge base through descriptions that are afforded from lived experiences while the ethnographic design comprises data collection and analysis related to cultural groups (Polit & Beck, 2017). Qualitative research is opposite of quantitative research, quantitative research counts on numerical and measurable with scales, tools, and intervention, it focuses on tightly controlled variables in a structured setting to provide explanation of laws and qualitative design is more flexible with variables and wants to understand the participants’ behaviors (Polit & Beck, 2017).

The exploratory nature of the research question requires a phenomenological qualitative approach for data collection and analysis to acquire a rich understanding of the participant’s experiences whilst ensuring a strong focus is made towards the research question. Phenomenology is the study of subjective experiences, in which the experience is made sense of and knowledge is gained about a person’s views instead of trying to explain them making sense of the experience (Smith, 2004).