Coding, Constant Comparisons, and Core Categories

Abstract

Grounded theory method (GTM) is a research methodology used to create substantive theories through inductive and abductive data analysis, rather than hypothetical deductions. 3,4 More specifically, GTM is a research/methods package which includes the cyclic application of '…data collection, coding and analysing through memoing, theoretical sampling and sorting to writing, using the constant comparative method.' 5(p12) At its core, GTM aims to understand behaviour and meanings that participants give to their experiences in a particular setting. 6 Further, the aim is to generate conceptual theories that explain a phenomenon from the perspective and in the context of the people who experienced it 7 that can be applied to practical situations. According to Charmaz 3 , researchers construct grounded theories through their past and present interactions with people, their personal perspectives and their research practices. A constructivist approach therefore allows a representation of experience rather than an exact replication of it 3 and sees the researcher as an interpreter during analysis rather than the ultimate authority in defining the data. (p52)A constructivist approach to GTM starts with the lived experience, then asks how participants constructed that experience. 8,11 The researcher can then explore how and why participants constructed meanings and actions in certain situations, while keeping in mind that the resultant theory is itself an interpretation that is dependent on the researcher's view. 8,[11][12][13][14] Using this approach, what researchers see and hear will depend on their past experiences and interests, their prior interpretation of the phenomenon, the research context, the researcher-participant relationship, and the methods of generating and recording the data. 8,10 As such, the researcher should treat the research process itself as a social construction, and scrutinise all research decisions and directions. Charmaz's GTM comprises systematic yet flexible guidelines for collecting and analysing (primarily qualitative) data in order to construct theories that are grounded in the data. 3,4A key feature of this method is the concurrent collection and analysis of data, with each informing and focusing the other; this allows analysis to become progressively more theoretical as the research progresses. 3,4Other core tenets include theoretical sampling, constant comparison of data to theoretical

Investigating the Strategies Adopted by Emergency Nurses to Address Uncertainty and Change in the Event of Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Grounded Theory Study

“…A purposive sampling strategy was used initially to recruit the first 10 participants. This strategy allowed for participants to be selected from the relevant population according to an initial set of criteria [17]. For inclusion, the participants had to be a full-time registered nurse in an emergency department in Hong Kong, Cantonese, English-speaking and willing to participate in the study and share their experiences.…”

“…This sampling strategy uses a systematic and cumulative participant recruitment method and is considered to be the major impetus to the progression of data collection and analysis in grounded theory studies [13]. Theoretical sampling is an iterative process wherein the participant recruitment and data collection processes are driven and performed according to the concepts alluded by the previous data [17]. It enables the ongoing development and elaboration of preliminary concepts and categories that emerge in the data analysis process and thus grants greater representativeness to the findings [18,19].…”

Urgensi Literasi Media di Tengah Sinisme Antarsuku, Agama, Ras, dan Golongan

“…Melakukan pemberitaan yang objektif, berimbang, dan tidak berpihak. Amanpour (dikutip dalam Gilboa, 2009) berpendapat bahwa objektifitas itu hanya bisa dilakukan dengan memberikan beragam sudut pandang, na-mun tidak semuanya memiliki porsi yang sama. Dengan demikian, dampak konflik bisa direduksi dengan cara tidak memunculkan sinisme dalam isi pemberitaan.…”

“…Saat ini, media yang lebih banyak dipilih untuk persebaran ideologi dan pesan kebencian adalah media online. Karekter media online yang memberikan ruang untuk tidak beridentitas serta jangkauan yang luas, memilki daya tarik tersendiri bagi penggunanya (Gilboa, 2009). Dalam sosial media misalnya, eksklusivitas akun kelompok tertentu ini tampak ketika mereka melakukan pemberitaan dengan fokus pada ideologi mereka, tanpa memberi ruang untuk perbedaan.…”

“…Dalam konteks pemberitaan media, lazim diperdebatkan tentang pendekatan 'bytstander journalism' versus 'journalism of attachment'. Perdebatan lain yang juga sering muncul adalah 'peace journalism' versus 'war/conflict journlism' (Gilboa, 2009). Terhadap beberapa pendekatan tersebut, Martin Bell (dikutip dalam Gilboa, 2009) memberikan kritik bahwa media yang menganut 'bytsatnder journalism' seringkali fokus melakukan pemberitaan dari sisi kemiliteran meliputi taktis peperangan atau persenjataan.…”