Informed Grounded Theory

“Second, the dictum can easily be used as an excuse for lazy ignorance of the literature (Silverman, 2000; Suddaby, 2006), which may lead to the belief and accusation that such research is “easy” and “atheoretical” (Morse, 1994).”

“Therefore, reflexivity is viewed as highly important among many later grounded theorists (e.g., Charmaz, 2006, 2008; Dey 2007; Dunne, 2011; McGhee et al., 2007; Mills et al., 2006a; Mruck & Mey, 2007).”

“According to Glaser (2004), memos are “theoretical notes about the data and the conceptual connections between categories” (p. 61).”

“There are, for instance, GT researchers who witness how literature in the field helped them to draw their attention to details in data, and then being able to go beyond the literature in their analysis (e.g. Bowen, 2006; Dunne, 2011; Stern, 2007).”

“Using a grounded theory approach, we study and analyze the reviewed studies to obtain key emergent themes of research and similarities and differences across areas (Stough & Lee, 2021; Thornberg, 2012).”

“Reflecting previous findings, some pupils expressed that they had experienced degrading treatment and bullying in the changing rooms (cf., Atkinson & Kehler, 2012; Devís-Devís et al., 2018; Fisette, 2011; Frydendal & Thing, 2020; Quarmby et al., 2019).”

“Data analysis was conducted through informed grounded theory, “a research process…in which both the process and the product have been thoroughly grounded in data by grounded theory methods while being informed by existing research literature and theoretical frameworks’’ (Thornberg, 2012, p. 249).”

“In line with informed grounded theory, theoretical agnosticism and theoretical pluralism were guiding principles during the analytical work (Thornberg 2012).”

“…purpose framing the current research or deriving hypotheses, but to explore and explain the new data and discovering new ideas and concepts that were not hitherto explained by pre – existing knowledge (Thornberg 2012: see also Reichertz 2007 for a detailed dicussion on abduction in GT research).”

“Despite the theoretical elements mentioned in the introductory section, and following grounded theory study guidelines, literature comparison was conducted after the process of data analysis was concluded, and presented in this section to locate the main findings within the extant theories and theoretical explanations…”

“This was an iterative, inductive process involving constant comparison (Thornberg, 2012) between the emerging categories and the constructs until a satisfactory classification was available.”

“One promising approach to further study the use of design principles in practice might thus be through the lens of various software development approaches such as waterfall, spiral, or agile methods [47].”

“In addition, since this study used homologous data and self-report measurements, it is necessary to test common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003, 2012).”

“IGT involves iterative coding informed in advance by sensitising concepts, in this case nodes of positionality, relationality and leadership.”

“Unlike Glaser’s classic grounded theory, which focuses on the emergence of new theories, Straussian grounded theory incorporates established theoretical concepts into the analysis (Thornberg, 2012).”

“In the constructivist approach, researchers play an active role alongside participants, contributing to the research process and sharing in constructing meaning within the study ’ s context (Thornberg, 2012).”

“We drew from methods of the Informed Grounded Theory approach developed by Thornberg (2012) to allow researchers to explicitly incorporate knowledge from extant literature into an interview guide [26].”

“The study was conducted using theoretical sampling, applying the concept of theoretical saturation (Thornberg, 2012).”

“Use of sensitising concepts allows for an analysis lens to be proposed and tested, but avoids ‘forcing data into pre-existing concepts and theories’ (Thornberg, 2012, 249).”

“…and Mentoring Special Issue No. 11, June 2017 Page 88 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at: http://ijebcm.brookes.ac.uk comparative process (Andrew, 2006; Hallberg, 2010), analytical memos and reflexivity (Dunne, 2011; Mills et al., 2006; Thornberg, 2012).”

“It was launched during the 1960s by two American Sociologists Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss who had different intellectual backgrounds and was developed through the combination of a set of principles based upon an inductive approach (Thornberg, 2012).”

“For the qualitative interview data, we conducted an inductive, grounded theory-informed analysis [83].”

“In line with grounded theory principles, throughout initial and focused coding we practiced both theoretical agnosticism and theoretical pluralism (Thornberg, 2012), remaining informed by relevant literature but not attached to any one concept or theory.”

“In keeping with informed grounded theory (Thornberg, 2012), data analysis began with the initial interviews, and emergent themes were compared to theories and models in the current scholarly literature.”

“These approaches emphasise that knowledge is socio-culturally bound and co-constructed by the researcher and participants 20,21 and that new knowledge is generated by individuals’ interpretations of their experiences.”

“Thus, there was an iterative process between literature, data gathering and analysis (Thornberg 2012).”

“Thornberg (2012) convincingly argued about the legitimacy and usefulness of working with the existing literature when doing grounded theory.”

“In other words, we moved back and forth between the data and pre-existing theories in the literature (e.g., Ishihara et al. 2010; Vigne and Martin 2010; Kitade and Toko 2016; Kitade 2017), making comparisons and interpretations to find explanations for changes in demand (Thornberg 2012).”

“As Thornberg (2012) comments, “In an informed GT approach, the researcher takes the advantage of pre-existing theories and research findings in the substantive field in a sensitive, creative, and flexible way” (p. 255).”

“During the process, I wove the chosen themes based on their independence from one another and their connections to the JD-R model to build an “informed grounded theory” (Thornberg, 2012).”

“We also adopted informed GT, which is rooted in constructivist GT and suggests data sensitizing principles in using literature in GT research (Thornberg, 2012).”

“It used grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Corbin and Strauss, 2008), in particular the constructivist interpretation promoted by Charmaz (2014) and the informed version suggested by Thornberg (2012).”

“Case study data was collected and analysed using informed grounded theory methods (Thornberg, 2012).”

“In general, data analysis utilized an informed grounded theory approach where the process and the product are grounded in data yet are “informed by existing research literature and theoretical frameworks” (Thornberg, 2012, p. 249).”

“Grounded theory research sometimes integrates a review of the literature into the research process (Thornberg 2012) and embeds it in the findings: “The findings section presents the theoretical scheme.”

“This has consequences for the use of the theory in the building process, which will be characterised by an interplay, openness, and reflexivity between former theory and empirical data (Thornberg, 2012).”

“The research uses a theory-informed, evidence-driven comparative approach to identify patterns across cases while remaining attuned to local contexts (Thornberg, 2012).”

“In constructivist grounded theory, we encourage an early and ongoing ‘informed’ approach to the literature (Thornberg, 2012) on the basis that it is vital to familiarise oneself with the research terrain and that not doing so is impractical and underestimates the researcher’s c apacity to be…”

“…on abduction (in the GT versions of Charmaz, 2006 and Glaser, 1978), or induction (in Strauss & Corbin, 1990, 1998; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) 1 that forms and evaluates hypotheses in order to make sense of puzzling facts (Koleva & Ocler, 2018; Peirce, 1935; Thagard & Shelley, 1997; Thornberg, 2012).”

“Here, the researchers’ focus emanated from ‘‘abductive reasoning’’ (Thornberg, 2012, p. 247) based on standards, research and novice language teachers’ perspectives on SA for the school subjects concerned.”

“For this analysis I employed an iterative and informed grounded coding approach (see Thornberg 2012).”

“Theoretical sensitivity, where the researcher is transparent in the theory formation process (Glaser & Holton 2004; Thornberg 2012), must also be established through reflexivity and reflections (Hall & Callery 2001).”

“An informed grounded theory approach was taken when analyzing the data [17], attending to the broad question of how people were interacting with and ideating from the analogies.”

“Memos were used throughout the analysis (Thornberg, 2012), and the generated themes were discussed within the multi-professional research team, which included senior medical consultants with teaching and research experience in medical education (AW, AS & ALL), as well as educational researchers…”

“In keeping with the work of other grounded theorists (see, e.g. Bowen, 2006; Charmaz, 2006, 2012, 2014; Charmaz and Thorn-berg, 2021; Thornberg, 2012), analytic codes were built up through a fl uid and recursive process, which involved the interweaving of sensitizing concepts (such as social…”

“Efforts to keep the analysis closely tied to the empirical data, therefore having a theoretically sensitive approach, were made by adhering to a theoretically agnostic and pluralistic reasoning throughout the process (Thornberg, 2012).”

“The methods were also influenced by an informed grounded theory which recognizes pre-existing theories which can help the researcher to focus attention on certain phenomena, aspects, or nuances, providing a framework for thinking about a problem and for seeing beyond the data (Thornberg, 2012).”

“Operating within a constructivist grounded theory framework, later grounded theory proponents (Charmaz, 2006; Dey, 1999; Kelle, 2007; Lempert, 2007; Thornberg, 2012) acknowledge the influence of existing theories on a study.”

“Grounded theorists differ in their perspectives regarding the role of a literature review in grounded theory but share the prioritization of empirical encounters in shaping findings (DUNNE, 2011; THORNBERG, 2012).”

“For example, Thornberg states the following: “observation could never be totally free from theoretical influence because seeing is already a “theory-laden” undertaking” [20, p. 246].”

“…and legitimately applied in other forms of qualitative research to expand and re fi ne preliminary theorising (Strauss & Corbin, 1994; Mcghee, Marland, & Atkinson, 2007; Thornberg, 2012) – indeed such uses outnumber “ classic ” approaches that eschew a-priori theory (Matavire & Brown, 2013).”

“On the other hand, Thornberg (2012) saw the delay of the literature review as a problem and a sign of being out of date.”

“This pragmatic ontological approach recognizes both absolute reality and multiple realities and multiple perspectives on these realities (Thornberg 2012).”

“Next, I provide contextual information on mobility practices and planning in Ireland, followed by a detailed outline of the methodology of the study, in which I adopted an informed grounded theory approach (Thornberg 2012).”

“We utilized a modified grounded theory approach that prioritized coding for emergent findings and then linked findings to concepts in theory (Thornberg 2012; Mills et al. 2006).”

“For the qualitative interview data, we conducted an inductive, grounded theory-informed analysis [83].”

“Unlike Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), this method claims that “pre-existing theories and research findings can be used as heuristic tools” (Thornberg, 2012, p. 249).”

“In this qualitative study, we used an informed grounded theory approach (Thornberg, 2012) to answer the above research questions.”

“The interviews followed an in-depth, semi-structured format allowing for an ‘ informed grounded theory ’ approach (Thornberg, 2012) where the research was guided by sensitising concepts from the literature, but was open to emergent themes that surfaced in interviewees ’ responses (Tracy, 2013).”

“The in-depth, semi-structured interview format allowed for an “ informed grounded theory ” approach (Thornberg 2012) where the research was guided by sensitising concepts from the literature, but was open to emergent themes that surfaced in interviewees ’ responses (Tracy 2013).”

“Practically, this method revolves around a “dialectical shuttling” between the data being analysed and the existing literature (Atkinson, et al., 2003 in Thornberg, 2012 , p. 247).”

“…criterion for people, cases, situations, and environments should be determined before entering the realm (Charmaz, 2006), and after determining the sampling criterion, this theoretical sample dictates where the researcher should be and the place where the data will be collected (Thornberg, 2012).”

“The information from PLD talanoa was iteratively coded following Informed Grounded Theory (IGT) (Thornberg, 2012) by testing the validity of spatial sensitising concepts such as school and classroom, and temporal aspects such as school rituals.”

“Towards the end of the analysis, the researchers’ reasoning turned more abductive, which is considered an essential part of a new generation’s GT (Bryant, 2009; Thornberg, 2012).”

“Thornberg (2012) has referred to this supplementation of GT technique with explicit literature review as informed GT (Kelle, 2019).”

“The themes emerged inductively from the data and will be discussed in depth as to how they contributed to generating implications and developing a theory (Thornberg, 2012).”