a most useful tool is the scientific method, and what better person, to re-illuminate it, than Barney Glaser. This guide is condensed from Glaser’s books from Sociology Press, I am forever grateful and indebted to his commitment to the craft of science.
like a scientist in a laboratory, we do our best
to avoid contaminating the reagent,
that reagent is your mind, body, and heart.
this is how, we, touch the ground.1
“Description writing comes naturally, conception writing seldom does and must be learned with discipline.” – Barney Glaser, Stop, Write, 70
this is only a reminder to practitioners in the laboratory; without training on theoretical sensitivity or training, this may be meaningless
research
it’s the concept that’s important,
concepts are procedurally generated, emergent, and discovered
- stay close to, yet out of the data
- be mindful
- avoid the descriptive
- you should have written it down
- be kind
- sort your memos
- minimize preconception
- substantive, open, selective, theoretical coding
- recording, taping, or talking leads to description
- theoretically sample; only when necessary
- delay peer/literature review; when necessary
- momentum of indicators, unchecked, leads to reversibility of indicators
constant comparison method
- incident to incident generates concepts
- incident to concept generates categories
open coding
- what is the study of?
- what category does the problem incident indicate?
what property of the core category does the incident indicate? - what theoretical codes may apply to integrate the emerging theory?
natural coding
- concepts name pattern between 5-7 indicators; multi-indicator concepts
- saturate concepts
selective coding
- delimit coding to variables relating to core variables [emerged]
theoretical code
- [ to be annotated ]
working theory
- guides
- resort thoughtfully
- think theory and writing substantive concepts leads to conceptual integration
- relate concept to concept maintains theory conceptual generalization and general implications
- one general implication
- derailments
- unresearched jargon and conjecture leads to search for substance
- talking leads to overgeneralizing and excessive indicators
- insufficient sorting leads to paralyzed write-up
- diagramming leads to audience seeking relevance
- illustration leads to lightening conceptual density
- analogy leads to introducing new concepts; leading to potential irrelevance and lack of fit
- drama leads to introducing the concept of performance
- academic field jargon leads to theoretical dilution
- professional concern leads to dilution and/or derailment of theoretical transference
- relating concept to description leads to lower conceptualization
- relating concept to space, time, and people loses generality
- flow
- reading poetry leads to finding rhythm
- known rhythms leads to stable audiences
working paper
- title states core category with and for grab
- subtitle may convey attribution of grounded theory method
- introduction states general nature of core category, a few properties, and reduce to core category
- opening summarizes theory
- opening states core category and a few, at most three (3) sub core concepts resolving a non-preconceived main concern to the field which emerged in area of interest
- content shares systematic construction of integrated emergent conceptual relationships
- content underscores modifiability of theory
1 see 真言