Quality and Quantity, 15 (1981) 2 2 5 - 2 4 7 225 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands SOME PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS: ONE WAY OF ORGANISING THE COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENERATION OF GROUNDED THEORY BARRY A. TURNER University of Exeter Introduction In the course of their research into aspects of American health institutions and related topics, Glaser and Strauss (1964, 1965a, b) developed an approach to the handling of qualitative data and to the formulation of theoretical propositions which they subsequently labelled "grounded theory" (Glaser and Strauss, 1968). By this term, they meant "the discovery of theory from data". They advocated the development of this approach in order to counter what they regarded as undesirable aspects of the orthodoxy which then prevailed in sociology, an orthodoxy which saw most research as being concerned with the quantitative testing of hypotheses derived from the work of a few favoured theorists. By contrast, the use of the grounded theory approach enabled researchers to develop their own theories relating to the substantive area which they were studying, and encouraged them to use their creative intelligence to the full in doing so. Although their initial formulation met with only limited interest, the number of studies using the grounded theory approach has grown steadily since the publication of Glaser and Strauss's methodological treatise (see for example, "Reeves and Turner, 1972; Trimble et al., 1972; Riley and Sermsri, 1974; Conrad, 1978; Turner, 1978; Mo, 1978; Miles, 1979; Melia, 1979; Ogier, 1979; Hawker, 1980). At the same time there was a more general growth of interest in qualitative approaches and in so-called "soft-data" social science (Erikson, 1978; Whyte, 1979; Roos, 1979), perhaps stimulated by the expression of a degree of disillusion with the more widespread quantitative methods (Philips, 1971 ; Beteille, 1976). 0 033-5177/81/0000-0000/$02.50 9 Elsevier Scientific Publishing company 226 As a practising advocate of this approach to sociological research, I am encouraged by these developments, for they seem likely to increase the production of research which is detailed, non-trivial and of use to lay-persons as well as to sociologists. At the same time, however, discussion with those embarking on qualitative research studies relating to a wid'e range of substantive topics suggests that they frequently encounter obstacles when attempting to use the grounded theory approach because of the absence of detailed information about exactly how qualitative data should be processed in order to develop grounded theory. An analysis of seven texts on field methods (Sieber, 1976) highlighted this problem by pointing out that most of the publications examined paid little attention to the problem of data analysis, rarely devoting more than five to ten percent of their pages to the topic, and failed to deal with many of the problems faced by researchers. More recent work has extended the discussion of issues relating to qualitative data analysis (Smith, 1978; Glaser, 1978; Miles, 1979) but a number of aspects of the practical organisation of qualitative material for analysis remain to be discussed, and it is with some of these aspects that the present paper is concerned. Set out below are the practical elements of a data-handling procedure established by myself and a colleague * in 1968, immediately after reading Glaser and Strauss's book (see Woodward, 1970). Since that time, I have taught this procedure at graduate student and post-doctoral levels and supervised its use in postgraduate research, as well as continuing to use it in my own research. Like Glaser (1978, p. ix) I would not want to see an orthodoxy of approach imposed upon those using grounded theory, and I would not suggest that the procedure set out below is the only one which could be used: indeed there are some points at which it diverges from Glaser's recent recommendations, derived from his own, more extensive experience. But it is a procedure which has been tried and found to work, and while it is set down here primarily in order to help those embarking upon qualitative social research, it may also serve to provoke discussion of possible improvements, or to draw out accounts of alternative procedures for handling qualitative material. The Use of Grounded Theory The advantages for the researcher in using grounded theory are many. It p r o m o t e s the development of theoretical a c c o u n t s and expla* T.K. Reeves, now Reader and Head of Research, Anglian Regional Management Centre, Essex. 227 nations which conform closely to the situations being observed, so that the theory is likely to be intelligible to, and usable by, those in the situations studied, and is open to comment and correction by them. The theories developed are likely to be complex rather than oversimplified ways of accounting for a complex world, and this quality is likely to enhance their appeal and utility. A further advantage of the approach is that it directs the researcher immediately to the creative core of the research process, and facilitates the direct application of both the intellect and the imagination to the demanding process of interPreting research data. Some reservations must be expressed. There are pitfalls for the unsophisticated in the use of the grounded theory approach, and inexperienced researchers need to remain aware of the dangers of developing indefensible arguments from their data. Brown (1973) and Trend (1978) point to many of the dangers inherent in this approach, and in the light of their comments, it might be suggested that the grounded theory approach is likely to be of maximum use when it is dealing with qualitative data of the kind gathered from participant observation, from the observation of face-to-face interaction, from semi-structured or unstructured interviews, from case-study material or from certain kinds of documentary sources. By the same token, it is least useful when dealing with large-scale structural features of social phenomena, such as demographic trends or aspects of societal stratification systems. While these reservations need to be borne in mind, they do not constitute major objections to the approach. It is appropriate, however, to make one final introductory point. It is important to realise that the grounded theorist is not able to mask poor-quality work behind an array of impressive techniques, for what he is doing is very open to scrutiny. The quality of the final research product arising from this kind of work is more directly dependent upon the quality of understanding which the research worker develops during the course of the investigation than is the case with many other approaches to social inquiry (Glaser, 1978). The Basic Problem of Dealing with Research Ideas Research is concerned neither with the production of fantasies about the world, nor with mere mechanical fact-gathering. In social inquiry, there is an interaction between the researcher and the world, and in this interaction, the "quality" of the properties of the world must be recognised and respected by the researcher. Research analysis is the process 228 of teasing out these properties and gaining a fuller understanding of them. But equally, since any phenomenon has an infinite range of characteristics, the researcher's aim must be to choose the "right" aspects, the "right" facts to solve his research problem, and these facts are often elusive. Glaser (1978, p. 7) and Bailyn (1977) have both recently drawn attention in different ways to the centrality of cognitive processes in some aspects of research, and no systematic consideration of the methods of dealing with qualitative data can ignore the way in which these cognitive processes work. Some of the decisions about which facts to pursue are solved for the researcher by subconscious perceptual processes which influence what is observed, and other influences are exerted upon the direction of the analysis by the limited information-handling capacity of the human brain. The understanding which emerges from such research must thus be considered the product of an interaction between the researcher and the phenomena under study. This is true of all forms of research, including natural science investigations (Polanyi, 1958; Selye, 1964; Watson, 1968; Ravetz, 1971) and quantitative social science (Bailyn, 1977), but it is particularly apparent to and salient for the researcher pursuing qualitative social science investigations. The competent development of grounded theory rests, in part, upon a sensitivity to these often tacit processes of perceiving and understanding, and upon a willingness and an ability to bring them out into the open for discussion. Among the many texts which have addressed the general problems of social research, some have concerned themselves specifically with the problems of theory construction. The majority of such discussions focus not so much upon the problems of discovering theory, or of encouraging the development of extended cognitive forms, as upon the problem of ordering sets of already discovered cognitions and propositions into logically consistent constructions (Blalock, 1969; Hage, 1965; Dubin, 1969; Willer, 1967; Willer and Willer, 1973). This issue is not unimportant, but it does not deal directly with the particular processes of research discussed by Glaser and Strauss (1968). In some ways, it is to be regretted that there has been no serious extended discussion of the principles underlying the generation of grounded theory, for there is an element of polemic in Glaser and Strauss's advocacy of grounded theory which leads them at times to overstress the extent to which existing theory can be completely ignored, and to present their approach as a radical and novel one, rather than as a call for a reassertion of some of the more traditional principles of social inquiry. A few writers have touched, to a greater or lesser degree, upon the 229 cognitive issues central to theory production, and upon ways of dealing practically with such issues. Mills (1959), Hammond (1964), Mullins (1971), Schatzman and Strauss (1973), Baldamus (1976), Bailyn (1977), Barzun and Graft (1977), Lowe (1977) and Stinchcombe (1978) are all concerned in their different ways with the basic but crucial research problems of how to record data, how to label or classify data in ways which facilitate the rearrangement of the material to reveal new properties, and how to tackle this reshuffling process. The methods used to deal with these problems have often been highly idiosyncratic, and, although the problems recur in every research project, they have seldom been thought of sufficient importance to warrant detailed discussion. Bailyn's account is something of a landmark in this respect, not only because she thoughtfully reviews the cognitive processes involved in dealing with survey data, but also because she submits for consideration two possible general principles of data analysis: first, that to be maximally useful, data must be maintained at a "proper" level of complexity, neither too simple nor too complex; and second, the process of analysis is to be understood as proceeding by means of a continual interplay between concepts and data (Bailyn, 1977, p. 101) [11. Bailyn has begun the task of discussing the cognitive implications of everyday, practical activities in the context of survey research, but since, for qualitative researchers, the practical details of data handling are even more closely associated with central aspects of research cognition, some form of explication seems to be desirable, and this is attempted below. The recent account by Glaser (1978), which deals extensively with some problems faced by the grounded theorist, is less helpful than might be anticipated on this point. Glaser offers much useful comment on matters of general research strategy, on devices for stimulating creative thought in the course of the research process and on modes of reconciling the demands of research with other major life-concerns. His manual is, perhaps, best thought of as a guide to the finer points of grounded theory generation for those already thoroughly immersed in and familiar with the process. His dense and elliptical style, which assumes a prior familiarity with the method, seems likely to deter rather than to help those embarking for the first time upon work of this kind. For those starting research, Glaser suggests (pp. 3 3 - 3 5 ) that training seminars may be the best way of acquiring the craft of generating grounded theory, and I have successfully organised collaborative training seminars along the lines that he recommends. For those who do 230 not have access to such seminars, it may be helpful to suggest that the central principle of the process is concerned with tackling the cognitive problems of data analysis by bringing them out into the open. The research data are set out on cards or slips o f paper and are thus converted into a concrete, manipulable form. The problems o f analysis thus become more overt so that they can be more readily tackled by consciously adopted strategies, rather than by the covert, intuitive means often used. For this reason, the qualitative researcher needs at least two distinct sets o f notes or files for data analysis. The first, conventional, set will, o f course, permit the recording and storage of field data in any appropriate way which makes it readily retrievable. But the second set of research records is the one which makes it possible to manipulate and analyse the data collected, and to develop a theoretical understanding. Through this second set of records, the researcher develops a gradually changing, abstract representation o f the social world in a form which can be re-arranged to let new aspects of its properties become evident. Also, by presenting in a visible and available form those issues which are at the same time the most intimate intellectual property o f the researcher and the central themes o f the emerging theory, such records have the further advantage o f facilitating communication between research collaborators, or between graduate student and supervisor. It is with the development and use o f this second set o f records that the remainder of this paper is concerned. The steps set out below present one way of developing and handling emerging theoretical representation by means of such a set of records. The Stages of Grounded Theory The following discussion attempts to deal with the difficulties posed for starting qualitative researchers by the absence of detailed guidelines for the handling of data. It does so by setting out a series of nine stages in the handling of grounded theory, which are extracted from Glaser and Strauss's account (1968), but which, in some cases at least, seem to need additional clarification. The nine stages are set out briefly in Table I [ 2]. We now consider each of the stages in Table I in turn, paying most attention to the first stage, since that is the one least discussed by Glaser and Strauss, and also the one with which students starting qualitative analysis seem to find the most difficulty. 231 TABLE I Schematic List of the Stages in the Development of Grounded Theory (extracted from Glaser and Strauss (1968)) Stage Main activity 1. Develop Categories Comment Use the data available to develop labelled categories which fit the data closely. 2. Saturate Categories Accumulate examples of a given category until it is clear what future instances would be located in this category. 3. A bstraet Definitions Abstract a definition of the category by stating in a general form the criteria for putting further instances into this category. 4. Use the Definitions Use the definitions as a guide to emerging features of importance in further fieldwork, and as a stimulus to theoretical reflection. 5. Exploit Categories Fully Be aware of additional categories suggested by those you have produced, their inverse, their opposite, more specific and more general instances. 6. Note, Develop and Follow-up Links between Categories Begin to note relationships and develop hypotheses about the links between the categories. 7. Consider the Conditions under which the Links Hold Examine any apparent or hypothesised relationships and try to specify the conditions. 8. Make Connections, where relevant, to Existing Theory Build bridges to existing work at this stage, rather than at the outset of the research. 9. Use Extreme Comparisons to the Maximum to Test Emerging Relationships Identify the key variables and dimensions and see whether the relationship holds at the extremes of these variables. S T A G E 1. D E V E L O P C A T E G O R I E S In this initial stage, the researcher is presumed to have carried out a certain amount of fieldwork, and to have collected some data, typically 232 in the form of transcribed tape-recordings, or field-notes. At this point, the very first task to be tackled is the tentative labelling of the phenomena which the researcher has perceived, and which he considers to be of potential relevance to the inquiry in hand [3]. In following the procedure myself, I deal with the material paragraph by paragraph, numbering the paragraphs for reference purposes. Starting with the first paragraph of the transcript or notes, | ask "What categories, concepts or labels do we need in order to describe or to account for the phenomena discussed in this paragraph?" When I think o f a label, I note it down on a 5" by 8" file-card, together with the number of the paragraph, and file the card [4]. ! then check whether further cards are needed to note further potentially significant phenomena referred to in this paragraph. I generate cards with titles o f categories until I am satisfied with my coverage of that paragraph, until ! seem to have noted all of those features which are of significance to me, and then move on to the next paragraph. The labels used in this categorisation may be long-winded, ungainly o r fanciful at this stage, and they may be formulated at any conceptual level which seems appropriate, but it is crucial that they should possess one essential property: as far as the researcher is concerned, the label should fit the phenomenon described in the data exactly. If the fit is not perfect, the words used should be changed and rechanged and adjusted until the fit is improved, for the value of the whole approach depends upon having this goodness of fit as the basis o f the subsequent operations [51. Table I!A gives an example of a paragraph taken from a set o f postgraduate field-notes which I have used on several occasions in classroom exercises. Working on my own, ! would probably have produced three or four categories, with their corresponding cards, from such a first paragraph, depending upon my interests at the time. But to illustrate the importance of the part played by t h e categorisers in interaction with such material, I note in Table IIB the categories I have accumulated for this paragraph from three classes of six or seven postgraduate students as they discussed the material in successive years. Table IIB represents the product of the interaction of 18 to 20 imaginations and intellects with the paragraph in question, and is .obviously too much for such a brief note to '"bear" in an actual investigation, but it illustrates the way in which a wide range of concepts fitting the data under scrutiny may be produced. Which of the categories developed to encompass a paragraph like this subsequently turned out to be useful would depend upon the investigator's interests and upon the pattern of subsequent data. In this case, the concept relating to the significance of 233 TABLE II A. First Paragraph from a Set of Fieldnotes used for Analysis in Grounded Theory ClassExercises Paragraph 1 A row o f lorries varying between 30 and 50 queue up every morning in front of the factory to obtain their cement. All lorry drivers and owners place great importance to be first in the queue as this means getting served first. This has added importance in times of cement shortages when the cement outflow from the factory to the private sector is rationed and when the prices of cement are high. In addition to cement customers who come from all over southern regions of the country, there is also a set of lorry owners stationed in H . . . who act as transport agents for other customers. Porcelli is one of these transport agents. Source." Former factory manager who is embarking here upon a discussion of Porcelli's activities in the area. B. Categories Generated (to be placed on cards) by Three Successive Classes of Students Analysing the Paragraph Above as a First Step in the Analysis of the Complete Account of Porcelli's Activities Cement shortage Competitive behaviour among lorry drivers Many agents transporting cement Greater intensity of competition caused by cement shortage Customers transporting their own cement Role o f factory Significance of queue system as a means o f distributing scarce resources Economic context o f scarcity PorceUi's role Significance of time in relation to the queue Routinised pattern for the distribution of goods Importance of priority position in queue the queuing system is one which seems to have been particularly fruitful, and that relating to the role of Porcelli is another. The first concept has properties which make it easy to generalise from, so that it may be linked to aspects of economic and political theory, while the second is a much more locally tied idea which develops in the light of subsequent data analysed. Figure 1 represents a file card showing a number of the entries made relating to Porcelli's role in the situation under analysis. In explaining aspects of this situation he is clearly a key figure, but if we wish to develop more general formulations to embrace other versions of this very specific local category, we need to decide whether we can see him as prototypical of some more general type, describable perhaps as "Third World entrepreneur" or as "Transport owner occupying a significant position in Third World settings". Figure 1 illustrates, in addition, a scheme for numbering cards for 234 Title ~ Card number Brief reminder incident/evidence s \ Card 10 Para Location in field notes . . . . . . . Cross- references ...... 1 Para 4 Para 8 / PORCELLI'S ROLE~STATUS / ,' local transport agent engaged in reciprocal political relationships intimidates some locals : eg lorry drivers Para. 11 reciprocal economic enterprises Para 1G excessive influence with police ; eg incident of police inspector Para. 27 makes counter-announcements to the factory announcements Links with : Card 14, C a r d 36 See also C a r d 4 4 ? Fig. 1. Example of Qualitative Data Category Card, showing Types of Information Noted. cross-reference purposes. This scheme may have to be supplemented, when the number of cards has grown, with an index o f card names and numbers to help locate a particular card. Alternatively the cards may be filed alphabetically. Some category labels represent conceptual notions which the researhcer finds particularly elegant or appealing, but frequently these cards receive only one entry and prove to be irrelevant to the remainder of the inquiry because the phenomena to which they refer do not recur. The act of generating these category cards may, however, make the researcher sensitive to the potential significance of these ideas in some future investigation. Other category labels may take the form of lengthy, ungainly titles, produced because it is difficult to find a more concise form of words which fits the phenomenon in question precisely. If these categories are important ones which recur, they can be refined and expressed more succinctly as the analysis proceeds. For example, I have one card which was initially labelled: "A cceptance of partial view of problem obscuring wider view. Or/confusion of one factor with another (synecdoche?)" To this, later in the analysis, ! added: "Ignoring the beam because of concentrating on the mote" Later still, this category card was combined with two others which l felt dealt with essentially the same phenomenon: "Acceptance of partial view of problem obscuring wider view of problem" 235 and: "Chain phenomena" Finally the term: "Decoy phenomena" was felt to e m b o d y the crucial features of concern to me in all of these cases, and this term was subsequently defined more precisely and incorporated into the emerging theory (Turner, 1976, 1978). Other cards come to be seen by the researcher as forming part of a group or a cluster, and this perception, too, can be noted on the card. Thus, having produced the following category label: "Ambiguous interpretation of evidence in loosely structured situation" I later realised that many of the categories in this particular inquiry related to forms of information difficulties, which were assigned numbers, and I was able to add the note "Information difficulty 16" to the card. As a result of such cross-referencing, the emerging analysis had the useful property that it did not merely refer in an aggregate way to general information difficulties, but pointed also to an array of recognisable types of such difficulties which rendered it both more revealing and more convincing. If I had begun with the idea of looking for information difficulties and simply checked off the numbers of confirming instances found, I would have produced a final total, but ! would have had no greater understanding of what might be called the " t e x t u r e " of the phenomena being counted. SUBSEQUENT STAGES (2-9) Having dealt in some detail with the first and most opaque step in a grounded theory analysis, we may look more briefly at the remaining eight stages, which Glaser and Strauss deal with more fully than the first (Glaser and Strauss, 1968), and to which Glaser has also made more recent reference (Glaser, 1978). Stage 2. Saturate Categories This term is used by Glaser and Strauss to refer to the process o f accumulating additional examples o f categories until the researcher feels confident that he or she is fully aware of what is meant when any new phenomena encountered are classified into the category in question. Stage 3. AbstractDefinitions When the stage of "theoretical saturation" has been reached - it will occur at different stages for different categories, and its recognition is a 236 matter of personal judgement for the researcher - the exacting task must be tackled of stating explicitly, in terms of an abstract definition, those qualities which are, up to that point, being recognised implicitly when a new case is classified into the category concerned. For example, in the categories associated with the Porcelli example noted above, one category card produced had the title: "Battle for control over a marginal area" The definition produced for this category read: "Many forms of authority relate to territorial areas: this leads to particular attention centering upon the boundary areas between two authorities' territories. This category refers to a situation in which a marginal territory, not clearly under the control of either of the two parties adjacent to it, forms the basis of a power struggle between the two parties." It can be seen that the task of producing definitions for the categories which have arisen from the data is a demanding one, but it is crucial to the analysis, and often develops a deeper and more precise understanding of the nature of the phenomena being examined. Very frequently it will be found that the "theoretical saturation" previously perceived was spurious in that more than one type o f instance has been classified under the given heading, because o f a superficial examination of the events concerned. In such a case, in the light o f the more detailed examination which the process of definition provokes, the two distinct but related phenomena need to be separated out and dealt with individually. Stage 4. Use the Definitions When a definition has been produced, it will both sensitise the researcher to recognise further instances of the phenomenon in question and stimulate further thinking. The category defined above was derived from an examination of a quarrel over a queue for cement in a Third World country, but in its new form, it suggests possibilities for the extension of the inquiry in a number of directions. This is the process that the close examination o f the data is intended to stimulate. When it happens, ideas, the most precious resource o f the researcher, start flowing. They nee'd, of course, to be disciplined by being set up against experience of t h e real world, by being subjected to empirical test; but without the idea in the first place, the discipline of checking would achieve nothing. Glaser (1978) has coined the term "drugless trip" for the stimulating and productive intellectual processes which occur when the process o f writing in a fairly restricted way about definitions spills over into a more extensive and more discursive discus- 237 sion of the data and of the patterns of ideas needed to order the material collected. The energy of a "drugless trip", he suggests, should not be dissipated by talking about the ideas: when the ideas start to flow, write them down until all the links and insights have been captured. Then talk to your friends or colleagues about them. Stage 5. Exploit Categories Fully If we wanted to develop further the category from the Porcelli case mentioned above, we could note that the particular struggle mentioned is one between a legal body, the company, and a semi-legal entrepreneur. This might lead us to ask questions about situations in which such struggles might occur between other kinds of social entities: between two legal bodies (say, between two companies); between two nations (for example, between Morocco and Spain over the Spanish Sahara); or between two people (between two tenants in a house over access to the bathroom). We could note that all of these examples relate to territory, and we could query whether, and thereby sensitise ourselves to the possibility that, marginal and disputed areas might exist which do not relate to physical territories, but to other features of the world, as, for example, to personal autonomy, or to time. Thus, for purposes of comparison, we might examine the characteristics of a dispute between, say, a nurse and a nursing sister over activities in the nurse's private life - how far can the sister intervene? - or over working time, about whether the nurse should stay to work additional overtime [6]. We could also try to ask what properties of a marginal territory might lead it to become involved in a dispute, and we could suggest the possibility that, although territories are in principle allocated unambiguously, marginality comes about either because there is an ambiguity over the allocation of authority (which probably fits the bathroom and the cement queue disputes) or because the two parties base their claims on different aspects of the same area. Thus, for example, Spain defended its possession of the Spanish Sahara on the basis of present occupation of the area, while Morocco claimed it on behalf of the indigenous inhabitants of the area. The nurse points to her right to leisure time, while the senior nurse stresses that her staff have an obligation to assist with an urgeht situation on the ward. What we have been doing here is building somewhat speculatively upon a Single theoretical concept or category, one of not a very high order of abstraction. From this base, we have produced a number of related possible categories; a number of directions of thought; and a number of provisional hypotheses. It is somewhat artificial and slightly arbitrary to carry out such an exercise with a single category, but it 238 does illustrate some of the possibilities which the statement of the properties of a theoretical category in a clear and abstract form makes available. The abstract formulation frees us from the concrete instance which has served to generate it, and enables us to look for similar clusters o f properties at higher or lower conceptual levels, or in relation to different social entities. The exercise thus suggests a number of categories logically related to the initial one, but categories which are, at the moment, merely empty, labelled boxes, with no empirical content. If we feel that some of these categories are likely to be important for our investigations, the process of clarifying them and setting them out in this way will sensitise us to their possible existence, so that we are on the look-out for them when they do occur. It is possible that the kinds of category exploitation which I have been outlining in the last few paragraphs represent a kind o f activity which Glaser advises the analyst to avoid, labelling it "logical elaboration" (Glaser, 1978, pp. 4 0 - 4 1 ) . It is certainly true, as Glaser suggests, that there is a danger from such elaboration of exceeding the bounds of the data and building up speculative theoretical edifices upon a flagmentary empirical base. But since there is a sense in which all theory contains the potential for exceeding the bounds of the data from which it was generated, it does not seem possible to avoid all forms of "logical elaboration", or to maintain rigorously the distinction which Glaser makes between "conceptual elaboration" which he regards as vital, and "logical elaboration" which is undesirable. For some beginning researchers, grasping the possibility o f constructing a series of abstract elaborations which facilitate the perception of similarities between phenomena which were initially regarded as different and non-comparable is the step which helps them to begin to think theoretically. It might be suggested that the ability to construct a range of abstract variations upon a given concrete piece of evidence is one of the skills that the theorist must learn to develop. If this point is accepted, we could then take from Glaser his warning that excessive logical elaboration in the absence of data may produce a thin, poorly grounded and unconvincing theory. Stage 6. Note, Develop and Follow-up Links between Categories When we have worked through Stages 1 to 5 for a number of the categories arising from the data which we are examining, we begin to perceive links of various kinds. We will feel fairly confident about attributing causal properties and causal direction to some o f these links, while other links will be more tentative ones, which we may wish to regard as hypothetical while we seek additional data to confirm or deny 239 the existence of the kind of relation we postulate. An example of the first kind of linkage can be taken from the study discussed above. The case data collected made it very clear that there was a cause-and-effect relationship between the shortage of cement and the action of the factory management in instituting a lorry queue to share out the cement. At a slightly higher level of abstraction, this relationship could be expressed as one in which a "shortage of resources" led to the "institution of a shortage allocation mechanism", but the expression of such a provisional relationship provokes other questions, such as whether there are other possible outcomes arising from a shortage of resources, whether queuing is the only form of shortage allocation mechanism which might be adopted, or whether there are other options, such as rationing, restriction of demand by price increases, etc. Stage 7. Consider the Conditions under which the Links Hold This line of thought then raises the further question of the conditions under which one outcome occurs rather than another, and at this point we have spilled over quite naturally into postulating linkages between categories of the second, hypothetical type. If any of these linkages seem relevant to the pursuit of our research, we can look for further instances, using a number of approaches. We can, for example, set up tentative typologies. Or better, we can base our typologies upon data collected from disparate areas about the varieties of shortages, and about the varieties of resource allocation mechanisms which exist or which are likely to exist. Having made such connections, we might perhaps want to draw upon those aspects of economic demand theory which deal with such issues as the allocation of resources. Stage 8. Make Connections, where relevant, to Existing Theory It should, by now, be readily apparent that there is a considerable difference between the procedure set out here, in which the researcher approaches existing bodies of theory with questions and propositions arising from the researcher's own detailed examination of a body of data, and the alternative approach of beginning with a body of theory, and courting the danger o.f trying to squeeze the data, willy-nilly, into a form which fits the theory. In the first approach, we already have criteria for deciding whether or not existing theory has anything useful to contribute to our problem, and the suitability of the theory is assessed by these criteria, whereas, by contrast, the second approach weights the suitability and admissability of data by reference to criteria developed from theory, and this second path is not one which is likely to lead to discoveries about the world. 240 What is the nature of the theory that is likely to be developed using a "grounded" procedure? The researcher should be warned that when such an approach as has been detailed here is applied to a new area which the researcher is entering, a large number o f categories are likely to be developed in the early stages. But, because the number of categories .generated is a function o f our interaction with the data, as we keep our particular zone of interest in mind, we find that, after a while, we begin to build up a vocabulary of basic categories or concepts which serves to express all that we feel is important and relevant about the area in question, so that we need to add to the vocabulary much more rarely. At this stage, the linkages which we see or suspect between the different sets of categories begin to clarify, and we can readily start to separate them out into differing clusters. Various physical activities such as sketching diagrams of the links, writing about them, or sorting the file cards into groups may be helpful in this process of crystallisation. When the emerging relationships are specified, they form the nucleus o f a theoretical statement which, in its initial form, may not be very elegant, but which nonetheless has as its major attributes: (1) A closeness of fit with the area being studied which renders it understandable to lay participants in that area. Thus Glaser and Strauss, in pursuing their research into the care of dying patients (Glaser and Strauss, 1965a, b), found that nurses could readily recognise, understand, use and correct the Glaser and Strauss theory about the behaviour of those dealing with dying patients. Similarly, and again because o f this closeness o f fit, writings o f m y own which I regard as thoroughly sociological are offered on a technology course as teaching material which is readily comprehensible to technology students (Turner, 1976). (2) A degree of complexity. The emerging theory is likely to have a rather messy degree of complexity so that it is unlikely to fall readily into a set o f simple logical propositions which express its essence. But it should reflect, as faithfully as the researcher can manage, the complexities of that portion o f the world which has been studied. Because of this characteristic, other people are likely to recognise this account o f a portion o f the world, and when they tell y o u this, or add their own confirming instances to y o u r formulation, y o u r confidence in the theory will be that much increased (although, o f course, it is necessary to try to recognise and, if possible, to allow for the propensity which many people have to agree with any formulation which appears to bring clarity to an area of confusion). Alternatively, the new theoretical account may be recognised but rejected by others who know the area concerned, and when this occurs the researcher has to ask the questions basic to all scientific enquiry: "Are they wrong, am I wrong, or is there 241 some difference between the two sets of understandings which accounts for the difference in view?"; and "What kind of evidence do we now need to collect to settle this point to our joint satisfaction?". If answers can be found for questions of this kind, the theory may need modifying as a result, but with or without the modification, it will be stronger as a result of such testing. Stage 9. Use Extreme Comparisons to the Maximum to Test Emerging Relationships At this point, our gradual progression has brought us to a discussion of the use of the "constant comparative m e t h o d " which Glaser and Strauss advocate (Glaser and Strauss, 1968). They suggest that, in order to try to determine the limits of the propositions developed in the emerging theory, an active search should be made for confirming and disconfirming instances. Further, they suggest that this should be done by identifying the central proposition or propositions of the emerging theory, specifying the key variables and dimensions which are likely to affect these propositions, and then trying to seek out situations in which the various variables are pushed to their limits, in order to check whether or not the original effects still hold. Perhaps because I have been reluctant to follow the advice expressed very forcibly in Glaser's most recent publication (Glaser, 1978), to concentrate and focus emerging theoretical statements until they relate to a single social phenomenon, and preferably one that can be expressed as a gerund: "dying" (Glaser and Strauss, 1965a, b), "negotiating" (Glaser, 1978); or perhaps because I have been interested in phenomena which more naturally fell into more extensive patterns, I have not, in m y own work, had propositions which I wished to press in this manner. As a result (and it may well be that m y own work has suffered from this omission) this final stage of the process of grounded theory generation is one on which I cannot c o m m e n t from personal experience. For those who do wish to explore and buttress central propositions of their emerging theory in this manner, however, the logic of Glaser and Strauss's .formulation is clear enough. The reasoning is again basic to all scientific inquiries, and runs thus: If we are interested in a particular kind of social behaviour, such as "complaining", and we have explored this behaviour principally under certain conditions of relative status, how does the activity vary if our subject is complaining to someone of equal status, to someone of lower status, or to someone of higher status? Will our emerging theory predict variations here, and are they borne out if we seek out instances of hospital patients complaining to their fellow patients, to the domestic staff in the hospital, or to the surgeon who is about to operate on 242 them? Would we expect that the religion of one or both parties would change the observed behaviour, and could we check out our predictions by seeking out an all-Jewish hospital, or an all-Catholic hospital, and so on. In one sense, this is the kind of question that statistically-based survey analyses are designed to handle, and the option is open to the regearcher, at this stage of theoretical development, to look for large numbers o f similar cases in order to try to confirm or disconfirm propositions which have emerged from a small number of cases, or to try to look at the effect on the central behaviour pattern, of variables which are difficult to pin down on the basis o f a few cases. But there is an alternative option, for the researcher who has developed a complex theory which is comprehensible to people in the area to which it relates, which fits their situation closely, may feel that sufficient confirmation can be developed b y the expenditure of research resources in a different direction. Thus, he may want to solicit feedback from other social scientists working in and familiar with the field dealt with by the theory, or from lay-people familiar with the field. Or he may be content to gain confirmation of points which seem to be insecure by carrying out relatively small-scale survey investigations (Arnold, 1970; Finsterbusch, 1976a, b). The more it becomes possible to predict behaviour in fields remote from those in which the initial data were gathered, selected on the grounds that they take certain of the variables to extremes, the more confidence will it be possible to place in the theory. Glaser and Strauss's b o o k The Awareness of Dying (1965) demonstrates this process very well. Relationship of the Procedure Outlined to Survey Research Those newly embarking upon the qualitative analysis o f research data are sometimes uncertain of the relationship of the material processed by such procedures as those set out above to the material gathered and examined by the more widely used survey research methods. I would suggest that the processes underlying the procedures described above run through all research, survey and otherwise, so that in this sense, we are discussing two aspects o f a single phenomenon. Good survey research does not spring into existence in a vacuum, but depends upon the researcher being able to ask the "right" questions, questions which are of theoretical relevance, and questions which are understandable in and crucial to the substantive area under investigation. Survey research cannot, o f course, be atheoretical, for even if 243 there appears to be no theoretical content, the key, face-sheet variables which appear and which are manipulated as a matter of course in all survey research themselves constitute a theoretical base, one which postulates that the relevant behaviour can satisfactorily be accounted for on the basis of various permutations of age, sex, occupation, religion and so on (Baldamus, 1976, pp. 132-4). If good questionnaires are to be developed for high-quality survey research, it is essential that the research worker be familiar with the area which he or she is researching. While it is possible that a person with long experience and intimate knowledge of a particular area might be able to develop a good questionnaire without further investigation, most researchers will have to carry out a preliminary study, particularly if they are interested in a theoretically underdeveloped area. The processes of grounded theory outlined above apply perfectly to the activities carried out by researchers having a preliminary "look round" and finding out about the area before "research proper" starts. Many survey investigations merely provide quantitative evidence of imperfectly analysed concepts developed intuitively and in an unaccounted-for manner in this preliminary pilot or pre-pilot stage. Applying the procedure outlined above to this stage seems likely to improve the quality of subsequent survey work. After concluding such an initial exploratory stage, the course of action which is most appropriate for the researcher depends upon the questions to be asked, and upon the aims of the research. If the questions to be asked are essentially those of what has been called "sociography", questions about the incidence of a particular form of behaviour over a wide area, then survey methods would seem to be the appropriate tool to use. If, however, there are further theoretical and practical problems which require the elaboration of the theory beyond the state which it has attained in the pilot stage, then it is possible to gather further data, guided by the developing grounded theory, and thus to extend the existing theory further. The quantitative and the qualitative modes of research, however, are not polar opposites, and there is no need to pursue one to the exclusion of the other, for at any stage, emerging questions may be quantified by the use of survey-based techniques, if this is thought appropriate (see for example, Suttles, 1968): the use of multiple methods for the study of a single phenomenon has recently been advocated, so that a composite or "triangulated" outcome can be developed, after conflicting observations arising from the different approaches have been resolved (Trend, 1978). 244 Conclusions This p a p e r has p r e s e n t e d practical details o f a tested and tried p r o c e dure w h i c h it is h o p e d will be o f use to researchers facing the p r o b l e m o f analysing qualitative data, and p a r t i c u l a r l y to t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d in the use o f g r o u n d e d t h e o r y . Behind the p r e s e n t a t i o n o f this p r o c e d u r e lies a c o n c e r n t h a t the processes o f research should be as o p e n as possible, so t h a t n e i t h e r the p r o c e s s e s o f research n o r their findings are s u b j e c t e d to m y s t i f i c a t i o n s w h i c h conceal their true n a t u r e f r o m o t h e r researchers, f r o m the subjects o f research, or f r o m t h o s e seeking to u n d e r s t a n d the research findings w h e n t h e y are r e p o r t e d . T h e r e is, o f course, an e l e m e n t o f risk in a d v o c a t i n g such f r a n k n e s s , for the r e s e a r c h e r w h o lays his p r o c e d u r e s o p e n to public s c r u t i n y m a y s u d d e n l y discover t h a t , like the e m p e r o r , he has n o clothes. But it w o u l d seem, in general, t h a t the interests o f social research can o n l y be f u r t h e r e d b y m o r e discussion o f the details o f research p r o c e d u r e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e w h i c h are close to the creative c e n t r e o f t h e o r y building. Notes 1 The process of "double fitting" between data and concepts which Baldamus suggests to be pervasive in research analysis is clearly closely related to the matters touched on by Bailyn's second principle (Baldamus, 1976, pp. 29 and 40). Roethlisberger, ruminating upon the process of research, has suggested that it is important "to treat the territory as complex and keep the map simple" (Roethlisberger, 1978, p. 139). This seems to be less useful than Bailyn's notion of maintaining the appropriate degree of complexity, and the unenthusiastic reception given to the analytical sections of Roethlisberger's book may derive in part from the fact that'he followed his own precept rather than Bailyn's (Whyte, 1978; Roy, 1980). 2 In one sense, Table I covers the whole of the process of the generation of grounded theory, from initial data analysis to final theory development, but it is more appropriate to regard the steps set out in this table as a sequence of operations which need to be iterated, either in whole or in part, many times during a research study. Glaser's (1978) account of strategies of grounded theory development is more concerned with strategies for differing kinds of iterations of these basic stages than with an explanation and discussion of the stages themselves. 3 The significance of this initial step, which can appear to the beginner trivial, or frustatingly difficult, or both, has been set out very clearly in a natural science context by Selye: "The human brain is so constructed that it refuses to handle thoughts unless they can be wrapped up more or less neatly in individual idea-packages. It is astonishing how much confusion has been caused by the failure to understand the following three simple facts: 245 (a) Thoughts, like fluids, can be adequately handled (isolated, measured, mixed, sold) only when put up in individual containers. (b) The thought-packages contain previous experiences; only the selection within the wrapping can be new. We can have no thoughts of things whose likeness we have never perceived before. (c) The thought-packages, the idea-units, are very loosely bound together and their contents are not h o m o g e n o u s . . . " (Selye, 1964, p. 268). 4 Glaser (1978, pp. 7 1 - 7 2 ) expresses a preference for writing category titles or "codes" in the margin of carbon copies of field notes, subsequently cutting up these carbons for sorting, and he declares that index cards are a hindrance. I find his suggested method cumbersome and unworkable, but the precise technique chosen is clearly one of convenience and personal taste. 5 Since the process described is dependent upon the interaction of researcher and data, it is possible that someone with interests in conversational analysis or ethnomethodology might find enough material in such a first paragraph to occupy much of their enquiry, but I am assuming that, in general, those who use the present approach are more likely to be interested in what we might call the "topics" of interaction than to wish to concentrate exclusively upon an analysis of the finer and more detailed questions of how, in particular situated contexts, particular "topics" are introduced and handled by members of the culture being studied, or by the researcher in his field-notes. 6 Since writing this paragraph, I have encountered a recent article which makes precisely this transition from concepts generated in relation to territory to the use of the same concepts in relation to time, drawing parallels between frontier colonisation and the progressive "colonisation of the night" by western civilisations (Melbin, 1978). 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