AMANDA HYNAN FINAL THESIS PDF

that had been missed during the interview that shed light onto possible
communication breakdowns that had occurred. These instances either confirmed or
shed doubt onto what had been understood by the researcher at the time of the
interview and using memos was an ideal way to explore these issues. As has been
previously discussed many AAC-mediated conversations involve the naturally
speaking partner interpreting short phrases or yes/no answers. Within the time
constraints of a face-to-face conversation it is sometimes difficult to reflect on
alternate meanings. By viewing the interaction in minute detail on video it was
possible to reflect on alternative interpretations. Charmaz (2006) stresses the
importance of memo writing as a process which allows you to stop and analyse your
own ideas about the codes
“in any-and every-way that occurs to you during the moment” (p.72).
3.6.3.7. Theoretical sampling
The third factor identified by Birks and Mills (2011) is the theoretical saturation of
major categories. Theoretical sampling is a key concept within grounded theory and is
best explained as the recognition during analysis of what kind of future data needs to
be collected, and from where, to develop emerging theory. Within the current study, it
was recognized that some of the technical details of access, and the implications of
using the internet and online social media within educational settings, were difficult to
explore solely through self-report with the participants. Therefore extra data was
collected, from the heads of two college technical departments and from the quality
assurance manager within a special school and adult residential setting, in order to
illuminate issues and develop theory.
3.6.3.8. Theory generation
In order to generate the grounded theory, I decided to synthesize the grounded theory
approaches of Charmaz (2006) and Corbin and Strauss (1990) (section 3.6.3.). This
synthesizing process led me to draw upon lecture material delivered by Graham Gibbs
on the axial coding of Corbin and Strauss (Gibbs, 2010). Corbin and Strauss (1990)
use a technique called axial coding which they place as the second level of coding,
comparable to Charmaz’s focused coding. In other words it takes the medial position
within a three stage coding process. Gibbs (2010) outlines the model that Corbin and
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