Elite Research Statistical Consulting

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

After you have defined your research questions, aims, or goals, the next step is to identify your research design. Your research questions or goals inform the type of research design that you will use. There are some research designs that are informed by a particular field of study and expanded to other settings and disciplines. Other research designs are informed by theory.

Grounded Theorys

What is it? Grounded theory is a process of analyzing data to understand a topic to eventually develop a theory or refine an existing theory. It usually involves continuously comparing data that are typically gathered through interviews until the information gathered seems to convey the same information. It involves an analysis process that consists of several cycles of coding until patterns lead to central themes that inform the components of a theory. Similar to other traditional qualitative research designs, researchers in a grounded theory study are informed by the data analyzed and not by applying one’s own preconceived thoughts onto the data.

When should you use grounded theory?

To develop a theory
To modify an existing theory

A theory is a set of ideas that explains an issue or helps us make sense of the world. For a theory to be established or modified, you need to take the steps to ensure that your theory is credible. As research consultants, we can help you with your grounded theory project to help you plan, collect data, and present a theory that is backed by the data that you collected.