Conducting Grounded Theory Studies in Times of Pandemic: Challenges, Benefits, and Practical Strategies
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8024-2074
Catherine Schoales
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9078-0095
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to provide researchers with knowledge of the challenges and benefits of moving to virtual platforms to conduct grounded theory studies during the Covid-19 pandemic era and beyond. An overview of grounded theory will be discussed highlighting interviews as the backbone of data collection for this methodology and the need to create a realistic research plan to implement the many steps the research process and document the challenges of this process during pandemic. Implementing qualitative research, including grounded theory studies in times of pandemic has not been an easy task, therefore, leading to a change in the research environment and operationalization of the well-established methods. To this regard, (qualitative) researchers were forced to adapt to virtual methods while trying to preserve the high quality and methodological rigorous of their studies. Thus, before embarking in a grounded theory study, it is important to examine the pros and cons of using online strategies to be able to make decisions related to participants’ recruitment, data collection through interviews and field notes. This chapter also provides practical strategies for scholars to implement grounded theory studies by using virtual platforms and describe the authors personal experiences in developing and supervising grounded theory studies by highlighting the challenges and benefits to both study’s participants and researchers. As the pandemic endures, it is important that researchers are aware of alternative methods for operationalizing their studies and ways of overcoming the challenges of doing recruitment and data collection through virtual means. The authors will conclude by recommending that rather than become worried about the quality of data obtained from an online interview, researchers reflect on the impact that it may have had on capturing the essence of the processes (phenomena) being studied and highlight the need of including the challenges and limitations of the study in the final report.
Keywords: qualitative studies; grounded theory; data collection; recruitment; virtual platforms.
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2022 New Trends in Qualitative Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
openAccess
openAccess
Arcadi, P., Simonetti, V., Ambrosca, R., Cicolini, G., Simeone, S., Pucciarelli, G., Alvaro, R., Vellone, E., & Durante, A. (2021). Nursing during the COVID?19 outbreak: A phenomenological study. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(5), 1111–1119. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13249
Archibald, M. M., Ambagtsheer, R. C., Casey, M. G., & Lawless, M. (2019). Using zoom videoconferencing for qualitative data collection: Perceptions and experiences of researchers and participants. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18,1-8. https://doi:/10.177/1609406919874596
Arya, D., & Henn, M. (2021). COVID-ized ethnography: challenges and opportunities for young environmental activists and researchers. Societies (Basel, Switzerland), 11(2), 58-. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11020058
Berthelsen, C., Beck, M., & Hølge-Hazelton, B. (2021). Searching for a new normal-hospital-employed researchers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Nursing Practice, e12931–e12931. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12931
Brinkmann, S. (2018). The interview. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The sage handbook of qualitative research, (pp. 576-599). Sage
Bryant, A. & Charmaz, K. (2007). Grounded theory research: Methods and practices. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz, The sage handbook of grounded theory (1-29). Sage
Carreri, A., & Dordoni, A. (2020). Academic and research work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: A gender perspective. Italian Sociological Review, 10(3S), 821-845,821A. Sociological Abstracts. https://doi.org/10.13136/isr.v10i3S.400
Charmaz, K. (2000). Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory. Sage.
Charmaz, K. (2017). The power of constructivist grounded theory. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 34-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/107800416657105
Charmaz, K., & Mitchell, R. G. (2001). Grounded theory in ethnography. Handbook of ethnography, 160, 174.
Charmaz, K., & Thornberg, R. (2020). The pursuit of quality in grounded theory. Qualitative Research in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1780357.
Chew?Graham, C. A. (2020). Involving patients in research during a pandemic. Health Expectations: An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, 23(3), 521–522. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13079
Corbin, J. (2017). Grounded theory. Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 301-302.
Costa, I.G. (2018). The journey toward engagement in self-care management of diabetic foot ulcer: A constructivist grounded theory study. ProQuest: Kingston-ON, Canada: Queen's University.
Costa, I. G., Tregunno. D. & Camargo-Plazas P. (2021). Patients' journey toward engagement in self-management of diabetic foot ulcer in adults with types 1 and 2 diabetes: a constructivist grounded theory study. Canadian J Diabetes. 2021, 45(2):108-113. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjd.2020.05.017
Cuevas-Parra Patricio. (2020). Co-researching with children in the time of covid-19: shifting the narrative on methodologies to generate knowledge. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19. Sociological Abstracts. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920982135
Foley, G., Timonen, V., Conlon, C., & Elliot O’Dare, C. (2021). Interviewing as a vehicle for theoretical sampling in grounded theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920980957
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Transactions.
Kasymova, S., Place, J. M. S., Billings, D. L., & Aldape, J. D. (2021). Impacts of the COVID?19 pandemic on the productivity of academics who mother. Gender, Work, and Organization, 28(S2), 419–433. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12699
Lawrence, L. (2020). Conducting cross-cultural qualitative interviews with mainland Chinese participants during COVID: Lessons from the field. Qualitative Research: QR. Meherali, S. M., & Louie-Poon, S. (2021). Challenges in Conducting Online Videoconferencing Qualitative Interviews with Adolescents on Sensitive Topics. The Qualitative Report, 26(9), 0_1,2851-2856. Sociological Abstracts. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4906
Meherali, S. M., & Louie-Poon, S. (2021). Challenges in conducting online videoconferencing qualitative interviews with adolescents on sensitive topics. The Qualitative Report, 26(9), 0_1,2851-2856. Sociological Abstracts. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4906
Nowell, L., Dhingra, S., Andrews, K., & Jackson, J. (2021). A grounded theory of clinical nurses’ process of coping during COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Nursing, n/a(00), 1-12. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15809
Oliver, C. (2012). The relationship between symbolic interactionism and interpretive description. Qualitative Health Research, 22(3), 409-415. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732311421177
Sah, L. K., Singh, D. R., & Sah, R. K. (2020). Conducting qualitative interviews using virtual communication tools amid COVID-19 pandemic: A learning opportunity for future research. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 58(232), 1103-1106. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.5738
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research techniques (pp. 1-312). Thousand oaks, CA: Sage publications.
’t Hart, D. (2021). COVID times make ‘deep listening’ explicit: changing the space between interviewer and participant. Qualitative Research, 14687941211027780.
Weissman, R. S., Klump, K. L., & Rose, J. (2020). Conducting eating disorders research in the time of COVID?19: A survey of researchers in the field. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(7), 1171–1181. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23303
World Health Organization (2020, March 11). Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19. https://www.who.int/news/item/27-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19