Grounded Theory Method - Academic Publishing International API

Grounded Theory Method
A one‐day seminar
Presented at Black Horse House
White Knights Campus, University of Reading
22 nd May 2013
by
Professor Antony Bryant
The Grounded Theory Method [GTM] is one of the most popular research methods, but it is also
widely misunderstood by researchers, supervisors, and reviewers. This seminar/workshop will
outline the ideas behind the method, as well as the ways in which it has developed in recent
years. Having attended this event seminar/workshop will be able to commence their own GTM
academic research project with some degree of confidence.
This one day event delivers an overview of GTM, together with sufficient detail to enable those
attending to understand how a research proposal may be developed to incorporate the method
in a convincing manner. It will also assist those who are already using or considering using the
method, but find themselves perplexed with regard to issues such as the different forms of
GTM, the literature review, forms of coding, and the use of software tools. The event will
include discussion of examples of published GTM research, as well as the opportunity to apply
and discuss aspects of the method.
The seminar has the following learning objectives:
1. To outline the core activities involved in using GTM.
2. To understand open coding and memo writing, including an opportunity to try these
both as a sole exercise, and as a group effort.
3. To explain commonly used terms in the GTM literature – e.g. induction, emergence,
selective coding, and theoretical sensitivity.
4. To suggest different ways in which data may be collected – apart from using interviews.
5. To offer suggestions for ways in which GTM can be incorporated convincingly into
research proposals, dissertations and publications.
6. To understand the ways in which many aspects of GTM represent good practice that
should be incorporated into research in general.
This seminar is relevant to academics from most Social Science and Humanities Faculties, and it
will also have value to researchers and students in other disciplinary areas. The workshop fee
covers a comprehensive participants’ work book.
The seminar will be held on 22 nd May 2013 at Blackhorse House, University of Reading. It will
begin at 0930 and finish 1600. The attendance fee is £100+Vat= £120 which includes handouts
and refreshments. There will be a one hour lunch break and there are a number of food outlets
adjacent to Black Horse House on the White Knights’ Campus, University of Reading.
For more details and to book onto the seminar please contact: louise@academicconferences.org
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Seminar outline
The key innovations embodied in GTM
Research that starts without a set of hypotheses
or highly structured Research Question
The basis of scientific discovery
The Constant Comparative Method
Iteration between data gathering and analysis
Open Coding
From Codes to Categories and Concepts
Approaches to coding
‘All is Data’ – not just interviews and transcripts
Purposive and Theoretical Sampling
Memo writing
All about Gerunds
Divergences in the method
‘Original’ GTM; ‘Orthodox’ GTM; Glaserian,
Straussian, Constructivist GTM ...
How much do you need to know about these?
The ‘Theory’ in Grounded Theory
Experiences of GTM PhD researchers
Mixing methods
Induction, Deduction, Abduction
How to start, what to do next, when to
stop
Initial questions for GTM research
Sampling
Saturation
Open Coding & Memo Writing Exercise &
Discussion
An Academic Conferences and Publishing event
2
Solo efforts
Group discussion
Overcoming Misunderstandings and
Suspicions
The Literature Review
‘An open mind not an empty head’
Hypotheses as the outcome of a research
project
‘Emergence’
Trustworthiness and credibility
Dissemination and Publication
Writing up – using memos
Use of verbatim quotes
Where is the ‘theory’?
A guide to the GTM literature
What to read and when to read it
Glaser & Strauss; Glaser; Strauss & Corbin;
Charmaz; and others
Symbolic Interactionism, Reflexivity, Pragmatism
Good Practices for All Researchers
High level research questions
Looking for processes
Memo writing
Abduction
Seminar facilitator
Antony Bryant is Professor of Informatics at Leeds Metropolitan
University. He has written extensively on research methods, being a
Senior Editor of The SAGE Handbook of Grounded Theory. He is
known internationally for his work within the area of Grounded
Theory in particular and research methods in general. He regularly
supervises and examines research degrees involving GTM. As well as
his work at Leeds, he has developed and taught a wide range of postgraduate
courses in The Netherlands, South Africa, Malaysia, and
China. He is currently ASEM Professor at the University of Malaya,
and Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam. His current research includes investigation of
the ways in which the Open Source model might be used more widely, and in particular how it can
be developed as a contributory feature for the re-constructed financial sector in the wake of the
economic melt-down; coining the term Mutuality 2.0 and developing the concept in various
contexts. He holds a BSc MSc and a PhD.