A Set of Principles for Doing and Evaluating Classic Grounded Theory Research in Information Systems

Abstract

Grounded Theory (GT) is a latent pattern recognition research method discovered by Glaser and Strauss (1967). Due to GTs power and transcendence many research papers across several academic disciplines including Information Systems claimed to have used GT when in fact they have used pseudo GT methods. It is argued in this paper that any other research method which adopts the GT label without following orthodoxy of the authentic GT research method should not be called GT. All of the pseudo GT methods make the false assumption that GT is a sub set of Qualitative Data Analysis. This is a false assumption because authentic GT can use either quantitative or qualitative data and it is a general research methodology and produces empirically grounded but modifiable propositions. Within the Information Systems (IS) research community it is therefore not surprising that many, who claim to use GT, have used different types of pseudo GT. They have adopted vocabulary of the GT without following its original tenets. This paper explains how authentic GT can be carried out in an information systems context by trusting in emergence rather than forcing the data.