The DOI matches its Crossref record; 23 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Selecting a Grounded Theory Approach for Nursing Research
Open accessAbstract
Grounded theory is a commonly used research methodology. There are three primary approaches to grounded theory in nursing research: those espoused by Glaser, Strauss and Corbin, and Charmaz. All three approaches use similar procedures, yet there are important differences among them, which implies that researchers need to make careful choices when using grounded theory. Researchers new to grounded theory need to find the most appropriate approach that fits their research field, topic, and researcher position. In this article, we compare the three grounded theory approaches. Choices of a grounded theory approach will depend on the researcher’s understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of all three approaches. Practical aspects of grounded theory approaches should match the information processing styles and analytical abilities of the researcher and the intended use of the theory. We illustrate key aspects of decision making about which method to select by drawing upon the first author’s experiences in his doctoral research.
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“This impact affects both the quality criteria applied to research projects (Bøttcher Berthelsen, 2018) and the outcomes of the resulting grounded theory (Singh and Estefan, 2018).”
From Application and challenges of using a Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology to address an undertheorized clinical challenge: A discussion paper (2024) · cites this paper as Singh and Estefan, 2018
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Cites
The Discovery of Grounded Theory; Strategies for Qualitative Research
Glaser, B. G., Strauss, A. L., & Strutzel, E. (1968) · Nursing Research · doi:10.1097/00006199-196807000-00014 · Cited by 39,449
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Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques
Long, D. R., Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1993) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.2307/328955 · Cited by 17,625
(2014) · Cited by 15,747
Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis
Boyle, C., & Barker, A. (2006) · QMiP Bulletin · doi:10.53841/bpsqmip.2006.1.2.36 · Cited by 11,844 · cited 2×
“Charmaz introduced a constructivist perspective to grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2006, 2014).”
BackgroundMethod(1998) · Cited by 9,332
(1978) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 6,077
The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research
(2009) · Qualitative Market Research An International Journal · doi:10.1108/13522750910948815 · Cited by 2,359
Thornberg, R. (2012) · Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.1080/00313831.2011.581686 · Cited by 668 · cited 1×
“Glaser’s rejection of the researcher taking a philosophical position has been criticized as naïve because Glaser’s advocacy for and use of pure induction—letting data speak for themselves—is grounded in positivism (Thornberg, 2012).”
BackgroundUsing Grounded Theory in Nursing
Barnsteiner, J. (2002) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.24041.x · Cited by 291
Results of the Ontario Survey on the Prevalence and Control of Hypertension
Leenen, F. H. H., Dumais, J., McInnis, N. H., Turton, P., Stratychuk, L., Németh, K., Lum-Kwong, M. M., & Fodor, G. J. (2008) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.071340 · Cited by 248 · cited 2×
“The literature points to hypertension management being problematic in this population (Leenen et al., 2008; Quan et al., 2013).”
BackgroundA Grounded Theory of Families Responding to Mental Illness
Rose, L. E., Mallinson, R. K., & Walton‐Moss, B. (2002) · Western Journal of Nursing Research · doi:10.1177/019394590202400505 · Cited by 104 · cited 1×
“For example, Rose, Mallinson, and Walton-Moss (2002) conducted a study by interviewing 23 participants to understand their responses to mental illness of a family member.”
BackgroundTheorizing in Grounded Theory and creative abduction
Bruscaglioni, L. (2015) · Quality & Quantity · doi:10.1007/s11135-015-0248-3 · Cited by 95 · cited 1×
“Abduction involves engaging intuitive and creative ideas that may explain unanswered or unexpected observations (Bruscaglioni, 2016; Charmaz, 2014).”
BackgroundHow nursing home residents develop relationships with peers and staff: A grounded theory study
Roberts, T. J., & Bowers, B. J. (2014) · International Journal of Nursing Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.07.008 · Cited by 92 · cited 1×
“This process was used by Roberts and Bowers (2015) as they developed their grounded theory of relationship development in nursing homes.”
MethodMelia, K. M. (1996) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/104973239600600305 · Cited by 76 · cited 1×
“Strauss and Corbin’s approach has been criticized for being overly systematic and too technical to allow researchers to engage creatively in the research process (Melia, 1996).”
BackgroundIncidence, cardiovascular complications and mortality of hypertension by sex and ethnicity
Quan, H., Chen, G., Walker, R. L., Wielgosz, A. T., Dai, S., Tu, K., Campbell, N. R. C., Hemmelgarn, B. R., Hill, M. D., Johansen, H., et al. (2013) · Heart · doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2012-303152 · Cited by 75 · cited 2×
“The literature points to hypertension management being problematic in this population (Leenen et al., 2008; Quan et al., 2013).”
BackgroundThe needs of family members of intensive care unit patients: A grounded theory study
de Beer, J., de Beer, J., & Brysiewicz, P. (2016) · Southern African Journal of Critical Care · doi:10.7196/sajcc.2016.v32i2.298 · Cited by 31 · cited 1×
“This aspect of Strauss and Corbin’s approach has been cited as useful for those who are new to grounded theory research and who would benefit from more structure to guide their analysis (de Beer & Brysiewicz, 2016).”
MethodSørensen, D., Frederiksen, K., Groefte, T., et al. (2012) · International Journal of Nursing Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2012.08.013 · Cited by 26
How grounded theory can improve nursing care quality
Nathaniel, A. K., & Andrews, T. (2007) · Journal of Nursing Care Quality · doi:10.1097/01.ncq.0000290417.27393.91 · Cited by 23 · cited 1×
“Grounded theory helps nurses to understand, develop, and utilize real-world knowledge about health concerns (Nathaniel & Andrews, 2007).”
BackgroundThe Impact of Symbolic Interaction on Grounded Theory
Glaser, B. G. (2005) · The grounded theory review · Cited by 23
Staying theoretically sensitive when conducting grounded theory research
Reay, G., Bouchal, S. R., & Rankin, J. A. (2016) · Nurse Researcher · doi:10.7748/nr.2016.e1445 · Cited by 13
Nurses’ Wisdom in Action in the Emergency Department
Matney, S., Staggers, N., & Clark, L. (2016) · Global Qualitative Nursing Research · doi:10.1177/2333393616650081 · Cited by 13 · cited 1×
“In a study of nurses’ “wisdom in action” in an emergency room setting, Matney, Staggers, and Clark (2016) used diagramming as a way to reexamine data when they noticed that the category of “knowledge” (p. 4) was missing from their theory.”
Generalizing: The descriptive struggle
Glaser, B. G., & Hon., H. (2006) · The grounded theory review · Cited by 8
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Burns, M., Bally, J., Burles, M., Holtslander, L., & Peacock, S. (2022) · International Journal of Qualitative Methods · doi:10.1177/16094069221077758 · Cited by 174
“…variety of available approaches to each, make choosing an appropriate methodology challenging for researchers, especially novice ones (Green, 2014; Singh & Estefan, 2018; Starks & Brown Trinidad, Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative…”
BackgroundUrcia, I. A. (2021) · International Journal of Qualitative Methods · doi:10.1177/16094069211045474 · Cited by 120
“of subjectivism that meanings are shared subjectively by researcher and participants (Duchscher & Morgan, 2004; Rieger, 2019; Singh & Estefan, 2018).”
BackgroundChallenges in achieving effective high-level disinfection in endoscope reprocessing
Ofstead, C. L., Hopkins, K. M., Buro, B. L., et al. (2019) · American Journal of Infection Control · doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2019.09.013 · Cited by 52
Atkin, A. L., & Jackson, K. F. (2020) · Emerging Adulthood · doi:10.1177/2167696820914091 · Cited by 41
“…to constructivist grounded theory analysis, the personal and professional experiences of both authors were exchanged and discussed during these meetings to aid in new understanding of parental support by challenging and contributing further evidence to emerging themes (Singh & Estefan, 2018).”
BackgroundLeclerc, L., Kennedy, K., & Campis, S. (2020) · Journal of Nursing Management · doi:10.1111/jonm.13154 · Cited by 50
Metadata
- Authors
- Singh, S., & Estefan, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Calgary (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Singh, Shaminder
- Venue
- Global Qualitative Nursing Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-01
- Volume
- 5
- Pages
- 2333393618799571-2333393618799571
- ISSN
- 2333-3936 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6174650
- OpenAlex
- W2895681440
- Semantic Scholar
- 0abeb749241c853e9ed8c953201a9129c4b82195
- Cited by
- 118
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 23.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Global Qualitative Nursing Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Libraries and Cultural Resources (University of Calgary) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Libraries and Cultural Resources (University of Calgary) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary (Graduate Student Knowledge Translation Assistantsh)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Methodologies in Health Research and Practice
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Keywords
- grounded theory, nursing research methodology, Glaser and Strauss, qualitative research approaches, methodological choices, researcher positionality, theory development
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