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Grounded theory: a methodological spiral from positivism to postmodernism

Jane Mills, +3 more
- 01 Apr 2007 - 
- Vol. 58, Iss: 1, pp 72-79
TLDR
A methodological/methods package devised to incorporate situational and social world mapping with frame analysis, based on a grounded theory study of Australian rural nurses' experiences of mentoring, is intended to assist other researchers to locate participants more transparently in the social worlds that they negotiate in their everyday practice.
Abstract: 
Aim. Our aim in this paper is to explain a methodological/methods package devised to incorporate situational and social world mapping with frame analysis, based on a grounded theory study of Australian rural nurses' experiences of mentoring. Background. Situational analysis, as conceived by Adele Clarke, shifts the research methodology of grounded theory from being located within a postpositivist paradigm to a postmodern paradigm. Clarke uses three types of maps during this process: situational, social world and positional, in combination with discourse analysis. Method. During our grounded theory study, the process of concurrent interview data generation and analysis incorporated situational and social world mapping techniques. An outcome of this was our increased awareness of how outside actors influenced participants in their constructions of mentoring. In our attempts to use Clarke's methodological package, however, it became apparent that our constructivist beliefs about human agency could not be reconciled with the postmodern project of discourse analysis. We then turned to the literature on symbolic interactionism and adopted frame analysis as a method to examine the literature on rural nursing and mentoring as secondary form of data. Findings. While we found situational and social world mapping very useful, we were less successful in using positional maps. In retrospect, we would argue that collective action framing provides an alternative to analysing such positions in the literature. This is particularly so for researchers who locate themselves within a constructivist paradigm, and who are therefore unwilling to reject the notion of human agency and the ability of individuals to shape their world in some way. Conclusion. Our example of using this package of situational and social worlds mapping with frame analysis is intended to assist other researchers to locate participants more transparently in the social worlds that they negotiate in their everyday practice.

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Grounded theory: a methodological spiral from positivism to
postmodernism
Author
Mills, Jane, Chapman, Ysanne, Bonner, Ann, Francis, Karen
Published
2007
Journal Title
Journal of Advanced Nursing
Version
Accepted Manuscript (AM)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04228.x
Copyright Statement
© 2007 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:
Grounded theory: a methodological spiral from positivism to postmodernism, Journal
of Advanced Nursing, 2007, 58 (1), pp. 72-79, which has been published in final form
at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04228.x. This article may be used for non-
commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://
olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)
Downloaded from
http://hdl.handle.net/10072/400385
Griffith Research Online
https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au
Grounded Theory: A methodological spiral between modernism and
postmodernism
Abstract
Aim:Ouraiminthispaperistoexplainamethodological/methodspackagedevisedtoincorporate
situationalandsocialworldmappingwithframeanalysis,basedonagroundedtheorystudyof
Australianruralnurses’experiencesofmentoring.
Background:Situationalanalysis,asconceivedbyAdeleClarke,isdesignedtomovetheresearch
methodologyofgroundedtheoryawayfromitstraditionalpostpositivistrootsandaroundthe
postmodernturn.Clarkeusesthreetypesofmapsduringthisprocess:situational,socialworldand
positional,incombinationwithdiscourseanalysis.
Method:Duringthisgroundedtheorystudy,theprocessofconcurrentinterviewdatageneration
andanalysisincorporatedsituational
andsocialworldmappingtechniques.Anoutcomeofthiswas
ourincreasedawarenessofhowoutsideactorsinfluencedparticipantsintheirconstructionsof
mentoring.
InourattemptstouseClarke’smethodologicalpackage,however,itbecameapparentthatour
constructivistbeliefsabouthumanagencycouldnotbereconciledwiththepostmodern
projectof
discourseanalysis.Wethenturnedtotheliteratureofsymbolicinteractionismandadoptedframe
analysisasamethodtoexaminetheliteratureregardingruralnursingandmentoringassecondary
formofdata.
FindingsWhilewefoundsituationalandsocialworldmappingveryuseful,wewerelesssuccessfulin
using
positionalmaps.Inretrospectwewouldnowarguethatcollectiveactionframingprovidesan
alternativetoanalyzingsuchpositionsintheliterature.Thisisparticularlysoforresearcherswho
locatethemselveswithinaconstructivistparadigm,andwhoarethereforeunwillingtorejectthe
notionofhumanagencyandtheability
forindividualstoshapetheirworldinsomeway.
Conclusion:Ourexampleofusingthispackageofsituationalandsocialworldsmappingwithframe
analysisisintendedtoassistotherresearcherstolocateparticipantsmoretransparentlyinthesocial
worldsthattheynegotiateintheireverydaypractice.
Keywords
Researchmethods,researchimplementation,groundedtheory,mentors,ruralnursing,frame
analysis,situationalanalysis
SummaryStatement
What is already known on this topic
• Nursescommonlyusegroundedtheoryasaresearchmethodology/methodspackage
• Traditionalgroundedtheoryispositivistic/postpositivisticinintent
What is this paper adds
• Aproblematisationofgroundedtheoryusingsituationalanalysisdrawingontheexperiencesof
anempiricalresearchproject
• Amodifiedconstructivistgroundedtheorymethodological/methodspackagethatcombines
situationalanalysismappingtechniquesandframeanalysis
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
JM would like to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Queensland
Nursing Council. The authors would also like to acknowledge and thank
Professor A. Clarke, Professor C. Holmes and Dr K. Walker for their valuable
comments on early drafts of this manuscript.
INTRODUCTION
Groundedtheorycanbeconceptualizedasaseriesofvariantsreflectingamultiplicityofontological
andepistemologicalunderpinnings.‘Theformofgroundedtheoryfolloweddepe ndsona
clarificationofthenatureoftherelationshipbetweenresearcherandparticipant,andonan
explicationofthefieldofwhatcanbeknown’(Mills
etal.2006b).
Thispaperisbasedonourexperienceofundertakingaconstructivist–omit?AllGTis
constructivist?No,therearesomeverystrongargumentsintheliteraturedebatingthepossibilityof
groundedtheoryunderpinnedbyconstructivism,particularlyfromGlaserandhisadvocates
groundedtheorystudyaboutAustralian
RuralNurses’experiencesofmentoring(placeforaref.if
wegetapaperacceptedsoonenough),althoughitisnotadata‐basedresearchreport.Rather,itis
areflexiveresearchadventurestory(Clarke,personalcorrespondence)aboutreconcilingour
ontologicalandepistemologicalbeliefswiththemethodology/methodspackageused.
Initially
thedevelopmentofconstructivistgroundedtheoryistracedandClarke’sgroundedtheory
methodology/methodspackage–situationalanalysisisoutlined.Wethenproblematisesituational
analysisinrelationtoaconstructivistparadigmofinquirywherehumans are recognisedashaving
agencytoconstructandreconstructtheirownrealitieswhileinfluencedbydiscourseand
context.As
analternativetorejectingsituationalanalysisinitentirety,howe ver,webelievethatthesituational
andsocialworldsmappingtechniquesdescribedbyClarkeareveryusefulinconceptualisingthe
waysinwhichgroundedtheorycodescanfittogether.ItwasClarke’suseofdiscourseanalysisasa
strategy
toexaminethesemapsthatprovidedusasconstructivistresearcherswithan
epistemologicalconundrum.
WebelievethatthesituationalandsocialworldsmappingtechniquesdescribedbyClarkearevery
usefulinconceptualizingthewaysinwhichgroundedtheorycodescanfittogether.Nevertheless,it
wasClarke’suseofdiscourseanalysisas
astrategytomoveawayfromaconstructivistepistemology
towardspostmodernistthoughtsprovideduswithaconundrum.
Inanattempttosolvethischallenge,we returnedtooneofthephilosophicalrootsofgrounded
theory,symbolicinteractionism,tofindanalternativeanalyticalheuristic–frameanalysis.
Situationalandmostimportantly
socialworldmappingarefurtherexplicatedthroughadiscussion
aboutStrauss’theoryofsocialworlds(1993),Goffman’stheoryofframeanalysis(1974)andBenford
andSnow’stheoryofcollectiveframeanalysis(2000).Finally,weillustratethepossibilitiesofa
methodological/methodspackage,incorporatingsituationalandsocialworldsmappingand
collectiveframeanalysis,
byusingourownexperiencesasanexample.
BACKGROUND:OUREMPIRICALSTUDY
Aim
TheaimofthestudywastoexaminehowAustralianruralnursesconstructtheirexperiencesof
mentoring.Thespecificobjectiveswere:
1. Toexploreandco‐construct,throughinterview,participants’experiencesofmentoringin
relationtotheirruralnursingpractice.
2. Tolocateruralnurses’co‐constructionsofmentoringinthewidercontextoftheirsocial
world
3. ToconstructagroundedtheoryofAustralianruralnursesexperiencesofmentoring
reflectiveofbothcontextandprocess.
Participants
NineruralnursesfromfiveofthesevenstatesofAustraliaandranginginexperiencefrom7‐32years
participatedinthestudy.
Data Collection
Eleveninterviewswereconductedin2004/2005.Nineoftheseinterviewswereface‐to‐face,while
twoparticipantschosetobeinterviewe dusingthetelephone.Theliteratureabouttheproblemof
workforceforAustralianruralnurseswasalsoanalysedasasecondaryformofdata(Millsetal.
2006c).Datasourcesincluded
journaldatabases,newspapers,newslettersandwebsites.Both
electronicandhandsearchingwasused.Welimitedtheyearssearchedfrom2000to2005.In2000
theAustraliangovernmentreleasedakeyreportentitledRethinkingNursing(NationalNursing
WorkforceForum2000).Priortothepublicationofthisdocument,thefederalgovernmentin
Australiahadabrogatedresponsibilityfornursingtoindividualstategovernments.Thisisakey
momentforAustralianruralnursesandassuchisaworthypointtobeginouranalysis.
Data Analysis
Consistentwithacceptedgroundedtheorymethods,concurrentdatagenerationandanalysis,and
theconstantcomparisonofdata‐to‐data,data‐to‐categoriesandcategory‐to‐categoryoccurred.
Theoreticalsampling beganafterfourinterviewshadbeenconducted.Duetothefo cusedareaof
interestinthisstudy,theoreticalsaturationwasachievedafter
atotalofnineinterviewshadbeen
conductedandanalysed,togetherwiththecollectiveframeanalysisoftheruralnursingand
mentoringliteratureasasecondarysourceofdata.
CONSTRUCTIVIST GROUNDED THEORY
AnselmStraussandBarneyGlaser(1967)conceptualizedtheoriginalformofgroundedtheory,a
formwecalltraditionalgroundedtheory,whichanchorsourmetaphorofamethodologicalspiral.
Traditionalgroundedtheoryispositivistic/postpositivisticinintent(LincolnandGuba2005p.193‐
196),withresearchersbelievingthattheorywillemergefromthe
datathattheycollect.Theyhave
anunswervingfaithinthenotionofatruthwaitingtobeuncovered.Thisformofgroundedtheoryis
alsoknownasGlaseriangroundedtheory(Cutcliffe2005)inrecognitionoftheontologicaland
epistemologicalpositionofoneofitsforefathers,BarneyGlaser.
Soonafter
the1967publicationoftheseminaltextDiscoveryofGroundedTheory,Glaserand
Strauss’pathsdiverged,withStrausspursuingformsofgroundedtheorythatcorrespondedwithhis
centralconcernthatactionisattheheartofbothprocessandstructure(Corbin1991).Keyto
Straussmovinggroundedtheoryaroundanother
methodologicalturnwashisassumptionthatthere
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TL;DR: It is suggested that the application of ‘conceptual depth criteria’ can act as a test to measure the progress of the theoretical sampling and thus ascertain the readiness of the research for the final analytical stages and theory building.
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Sylvia Söderström, +1 more
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the symbolic values and use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology (ICT) in the daily lives of 11 visually impaired young Norwegians.
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TL;DR: The decision making of one researcher in the first two years of a grounded theory PhD study looking at the psychosocial training needs of nurses and healthcare assistants working with people with dementia in residential care is explored.
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Grounded Theory and Feminist Inquiry: Revitalizing Links to the Past:

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment

Robert D. Benford, +1 more
- 01 Aug 2000 - 
TL;DR: The recent proliferation of research on collective action frames and framing processes in relation to social movements indicates that framing processes have come to be regarded, alongside resource mobilization and political opportunity processes, as a central dynamic in understanding the character and course of social movements.
Journal ArticleDOI

The Development of Constructivist Grounded Theory

Jane Mills, +2 more
- 01 Mar 2006 - 
TL;DR: In this article, the authors aim to locate the roots of constructivist grounded theory and then trace its development, and examine key grounded theory texts to discern their ontological and epistemological orientation.
Journal ArticleDOI

Situational Analyses: Grounded Theory Mapping After the Postmodern Turn

Adele E. Clarke
- 01 Nov 2003 - 
TL;DR: Based on Strauss's ecological frameworks in his social worlds and arenas theory, the authors offer situational maps and analyses as innovative supplements to the basic social process analyses characteristic of traditional grounded theory. But these maps do not address differences and complexities of social life articulated through the postmodern turn.
Journal ArticleDOI

Adopting a constructivist approach to grounded theory: implications for research design.

Jane Mills, +2 more
- 01 Feb 2006 - 
TL;DR: Key issues for constructivist grounded theorists to consider in designing their research studies are discussed in relation to developing a partnership with participants that enables a mutual construction of meaning during interviews and a meaningful reconstruction of their stories into a grounded theory model.
Journal ArticleDOI

Clothes Make the Person? The Tailoring of Legitimating Accounts and the Social Construction of Identity

W. E. Douglas Creed, +2 more
- 01 Sep 2002 - 
TL;DR: It is found that legitimating accounts are intertwined with the construction of social identities, which serve to legitimate, on the one hand, an account maker's participation in the discourse and set of claims, and on the other, the involvement of proponents and crucial audiences.
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This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Grounded theory: a methodological spiral from positivism to postmodernism, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2007, 58 ( 1 ), pp. 72-79, which has been published in final form at https: //doi. org/10. This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving ( http: // olabout. 

Like a picture frame, a frame directs their attention to what is relevant; like a window frame, itdetermines their perspectives while limiting their view of the world; like the frame of a house, it is aninvisible infrastructure that holds together different rooms and gives shape to the edifices of meaning. 

A modified constructivist grounded theory methodological/methods package that combines situational analysis mapping techniques and frame analysis ACKNOWLEDGMENTS comments on early drafts of this manuscript. 

These are situational maps, social worlds/arenas maps and positional maps: situation of inquiry and provoke analysis of relationship among them;of commitment and discourse within which they are engaged in ongoing negotiations – meso-levelinterpretations of the situations; andaxes of difference, concern, and controversy around issues in the situation of inquiry (Clarke,2005, p. xxii).