Coding and generating themes

The two resources may help you to understand how to generate themes in a grounded theory research study.

Ryan, G.W. & Bernard, H.R. [n.d.]. "Techniques to Identify Themes in Qualitative Data", Retrieved on 23 December 2011 from the Analytic Technologies website.

Fereday, J. & Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). "Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development". International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 1-11. 

Grounded Theory in Qualitative Research book

Flick, U.,  von Kardorff, E., Steinke, I. (eds). (2000). A Comppanion to Qualitative Research, Rowohlt Ttaschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek bei Hamburg. Translated by Bryan Jenner, 2004, London: SAGE.

In this book, chapters related to Grounded Theory are:

Chapter 2.1 Anselm Strauss (by Bruno Hildenbrand)

Chapter 5.13 Theoretical Coding: Text Analysis in Grounded Theory (by Andreas Böhm)

Chapter 6.6 The Art of Procedure, Methodological Innovation and Theory-formation in Qualitative Research (by Alexandre Mètraux)

Grounded theory in conference papers - Computer Science (2011)

Halaweh, M. (2011). "Application of Grounded Theory Method in Information Systems Research: Methodological and Practical Issues". Presented at: European, Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems 2011 (EMCIS2011), May 30-31 2011, Athens, Greece.

Ortiz, J.A. (2011). "A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding Mu-Fi Interventions on the Digital Divide". In: Proceedings of the 16th Americas Conference on Information Systems, August 13-16, 2011, Lima, Peru. 16 (5). pp.3727-3736.

A "good" code

A code may be changed later over the process of your research. However, it doesn't mean you can name it without pondering it. With same data, different people may identify different labels, but some are "good" and some are "bad". Please bear in mind what you need to consider when you are coding.

Glaser (1998) and Locke (2001: 69) suggested to ask these questions when you do coding:

• What is happening?
• What is basic problem faced by the actors here?
• What category or what aspect of a category does this incident suggest?
• What does this incident suggest this is a theory of?

Again, 5 elements of a "good" code suggested by Bryne (2001):

• a label
• a definition of what the theme concerns
• a description of how to know when the theme occurs
• a description of nay qualifications or exclusions to the identification of the theme
• examples, both positive and negative

Bryne, M. (2001). "Data analysis strategies for qualitative research-Research Corner", AORN Journal. Dec, 2001.
Locke, K.D. (2001). Grounded theory in management research. London: Sage.

Doing Qualitative Research Using Your Computer: A Practical Guide - Chapter 9

This is the companion website to <<Doing Qualitative Research Using Your Computer: A Practical Guide>> by Chris Hahn (Sage Publications).

The book uses straight-forward, everyday language to walk readers through the research process, drawing on a wide range of examples to demonstrate how easy it is to utilize software that you might already own. The author used a diagram to describe the qualitative research coding process. However, Chapter 9 - Level 3 and Level 4 (Theoretical Concept) Coding, which a grounded theory researcher more concerned, is unavailable on the website.

Questions about coding in GT (2)

Q:
In Grounded theory, I am confused of which coding process shall I follow.

A:
I suggest you to have a clear idea of what different researchers advocated. You need to know what to code firstly and then know how to find the relationships between codes and develop your core category and build your theory. 

The following comparison may help as a start.

A coding process by Glaser and Strauss is different:

Glaser & Strauss (1967)	Glaser (1978)		Strauss & Corbin (1998)
Open coding	Open coding	Substantive coding	Open coding
	Selective coding
Theoretical coding	Theoretical coding		Axial coding
			Selective coding

Selective criteria for core category:

Glaser (11 Criteria) (1978)	Strauss & Corbin (6 Criteria) (1998)
central reoccur frequently more time to saturate connections not be-forced clear & grabbing implication for formal theory carry through completely variable is also a dimension of the problem prevent to other sources of establishing a core see the core category in all relations it can be a kind of theoretical code	central appear frequently no forcing of data sufficiently abstract grows in depth and explanatory power is able to explain variation

Glaser (1978) indicated foundational 6Cs as coding family.

• Cause 
• Consequence
• Condition
• Context
• Covariance
• Contingency

If Glaser's approach is difficult to understand, have a look Spradley's (1979: 111) 9 semantic relationships. It may offer you a start to code your data, and combining with Grounded theory coding process, you will then build a map of your code relationships. Furthermore, will have categories and core category.

• X is a kind of Y (strict inclusion)
• X is a place in Y (spatial)
• X is a result of Y (cause-effect)
• X is a reason for doing Y (rationale)
• X is a place for doing Y (location for action)
• X is used for Y (function)
• X is a way to do Y (means-end)
• X is a step in Y (sequence)
• X is a characteristic of Y (attribution)

(Spradley, J. A. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.) 

Questions about coding in GT (1)

Q:
What is really code? I mean only events or objects or both. When I read it seem to code only codes. After coding, you generate a category and take some code as property of category. Can I say a sub category is a property of the main category?

A:

Yes, a code is just a label. However, a good code defines of what the theme concerns, describes of the theme occures and examples both positive and negative. As codes are developed, it is useful to write memos known as code notes that discuss the codes. When you try to explain the code and why you named it, you will have the meaning of it rather than just a piece of code!

Which approach you follow: Glaser's or Strauss&Corbin's or others? With the coding method developed by different authors' approach, you may follow different coding process as each of them has its own ceriteria for coding and categerising. 

In some cases, a sub category may be developed to be a property of a core category. But it's not all the case. A code can belong to more than one concept. Similarly, at the next analysis level, a concept may contribute to and belong to several categories.  

I try to recall how I understood the codes, categories, properties, process, dimensions... Many notes in my handbooks in different dates. This may be an example of how I started (a memo on 09/May/2007). 

After read an article by Carlson and McCaslin (2003), I jotted down my understanding about their research and drew a diagram for myself.

Carlson, N.M. & McCaslin, M. (2003). "Meta-Inquiry: an approach to interview success". The Qualitative Report, 8 (4), 549-569.