Using grounded theory to model visitor experiences at heritage sites

The Natural World Heritage site (NWH) has a dual role of protection and utilization. The buffer zone of the South China Karst (SCK) World Heritage (WH) site is scattered with village dwellings, which adds pressure to preserve the outstanding universal value (OUV) and integrity protection of the WH site. The development of agroforestry is an essential means to maintain rural livelihoods, protect the ecological environment, and realize the protection and development of the heritage site. Studying the synergy and regulation of the heritage site integrity protection and the buffer zone agroforestry development is essential. This study takes the Shibing and Libo–Huanjiang karst WH as the study areas and administrative villages as the evaluation unit. From 2020 to 2023, through data methods such as remote sensing data interpretation, information data survey and collection, comprehensive index analysis, coupling coordination degree model, and GIS spatial analysis, a systematic study was conducted on the basic frontier research, synergy relationship, and regulation of the heritage site integrity protection and the buffer zone agroforestry development. The results demonstrate that the Shibing and Libo–Huanjiang karst WH sites integrity protection and agroforestry development in the buffer zone have a high coupling degree and a good coupling coordination relationship. This reveals that the heritage site integrity protection and the buffer zone agroforestry development are an interconnected and mutually influential whole, which the synergistic relationship between them is developing in a positive direction; The buffer zone agroforestry development lags behind the heritage site integrity protection, based on which proposed the regulatory measures for the synergy development of the heritage site integrity protection and agroforestry development in the buffer zone. The findings in this study provide references for the synergies development of the WH karst site integrity protection and agroforestry development in the buffer zone.

Natural heritage sites transcend national boundaries of two or more countries. The effective management of these sites requires close collaboration and cooperation between States Parties. Some of these natural heritage sites are Ramsar sites and World Heritage sites. In addition, some of the transnational natural heritage sites are river systems; most countries have put in place agreements and structures for the effective management of these river systems. With time, parts or the whole of these transnational river systems have been inscribed as World Heritage sites, not only because of their hydrological values but also due to other values such as biodiversity, biological and geomorphological processes, cultural and aesthetic values.

Today we find a variety of national and international scientific resources that describe different versions of Grounded theory (GT). It is referred to GT authors (Glaser, Strauss & Corbin, Charmaz) and other researchers who apply different versions of GT and write about its fundamental strengths: systematic procedures, emancipatory decisions, self-empowerment of researcher to immerse into the data, and emerging theory being substantiated by empirical data and its interpretation. Reading the resources leads GT researchers to the understanding of this methodology as a set of systematic procedures which are applied in an integrated way by striving to the fundamental outcome – created original and based on empirical data GT. Researchers constantly applying GT alone may learn its principles, progress of adopting the necessary intellectual skills though at some point experience “being trapped”. Why? Because GT application does not stimulate their creativity and this methodology becomes “well-known” routine or “typical” process by recognizing what is “right” and “wrong”. Such attitude regarding the qualitative research methodology is risky due to emerging normative approach to the range of qualitative data collection, analysis and interpretation. Initially, the researchers’ self- empowerment to manage the different GT versions helps to avoid the routine. However, in this case there comes a time when each version is assigned by researcher with “labels”. For example, Glaserian version is named classic, emerging and theory-driven; version of Strauss and Corbin is seen as hypothesis testing, though in fact it is treated as a resource of hypotheses; in Glaserian version GT emerges, and in Strauss and Corbin version GT is forced. Constructivist GT version states that various social realities are relevant, and the common establishment of knowledge is recognized as outcome of cooperation between researcher and research participants. However, is it possible to find the emerging and forced moments in all GT versions? This question is not easy to answer accurately. There are similarities between the mentioned GT versions, though their differences are more conceptual than procedural. When researcher exploits his/her potential of creativity by applying a range of GT versions, then the time may come to make a decision to integrate GT and other methodologies. Thus, researcher’s attempts to combine GT with other methodologies being close to the emerging nature and plural data resources methodology of GT are creditable and deserve encouragement. The article presents the example of such decision when combination or integration of GT and Action Research (AR) is considered. Research question: Do similar features of GT and AR allow combining these methodologies aiming at validity of results within the research process? Research aim is to argue the possibilities to integrate GT and AR. Methods. The information in the article is presented consequently: each methodology is presented individually and then possibilities for integration or combination are discussed. The overview for analysis of possibilities to integrate GT and AR was used in the study by providing arguments and generalization of considerations. Conclusions. Integration of GT and AR illustrates the responsibility of researcher in shaping the design of a specific research and solving specific research issue. Decision to integrate GT and AR allows researcher to be the expert in both methodologies and strictly respect the principles, procedures, and methods. Researcher may not fully apply two methodologies, starting a study with one while concluding it with another. Such a decision is risky, causing uncertainty and leading to unreliable findings. However, the integration of these methodologies cannot and should not be a mechanical action. Researcher must clearly determine the object of the research – is it process or change? This will result in a clear and basic methodology of choice, respectively GT or AR. Then, the study will be based on the fundamental principles and steps of the chosen methodology. And the relevant components will be chosen by researcher in data collection and/or analysis of process (-es). GT and AR integration is possible, therefore GT and AR complement each other and their combinations depend of researcher.

Over the years after its inception in 1967 the term grounded theory has been packed with multiple meanings, but also fraught by numerous misunderstandings, and complicated by competing versions. (Charmaz, 2006, 177) Introduction I am not completely convinced that this is the right place in this book for a discussion of grounded theory; it is here because it is so often referred to as a ‘research method’. Grounded theory (see Example 16.1 on page 185) is an approach that uses ‘simultaneous data collection and analysis’ (Charmaz, 2006, 20) and as such can be applied in ethnography, case study, historical or action research. It is more about how data is collected and analysed than about the entire research design. Grounded theory is a process of qualitative analysis, not a research method; it is a ‘general method of comparative analysis’ (Glaser, 1978, 116). Although taking a grounded theory approach will influence the design of a research method – for example, in pure grounded theory the literature review very often comes after the analysis of empirical data (Charmaz, 2006) – it is not a research method in its own right. Grounded theory is described as ‘a strategy for handling data in research, providing modes of conceptualisation for describing and explaining’ (Glaser and Strauss, 1967, 3). This is supported by Barney Glaser, who consistently refers to ‘grounded theory analysis’ and when making reference to the ways in which data can be gathered makes no reference to this as a research method (Glaser, 1998). The Discovery of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) offered a systematic approach to qualitative research practice, emphasizing that qualitative research had a logic of its own, and for the first time practical guidelines were offered in applying that logic. Since 1967 the two originators have taken very different paths. Strauss (1987) and Strauss and Corbin (1990, 1994 and 1998) present a systematic and what some describe as ‘rigid’ approach to grounded theory analysis. Many claim their approach has moved too far from the original concept of grounded theory and suggest that the constant comparative method of Strauss and Corbin has changed the way data is used, from the concept of emerging theory, to theory being forced: ‘the technical tail is beginning to wag the theoretical dog’ (Melia, 1996, 371).

Islamic identity is a crucial component in the education provided by Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, serving as a foundation for the formation of character and religious values among students. However, understanding of how students' Islamic identity is formed within the context of learning at madrasah is still limited. This study aims to develop a theory on the process of Islamic identity formation among students using a grounded theory approach. This research employs grounded theory methodology to explore and understand the dynamics of Islamic identity formation among Madrasah Ibtidaiyah students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with students, teachers, and parents, as well as classroom observations and curriculum document analysis. The data analysis process was conducted iteratively to identify main categories and emerging themes, and to build a comprehensive theory on the identity formation process. The study found that the process of Islamic identity formation among Madrasah Ibtidaiyah students is influenced by a complex interaction between internal and external factors. Internal factors include personal religious understanding and learning experiences, while external factors encompass the influence of the school environment, curriculum, and family support. The findings indicate that students' Islamic identity is shaped through integrated learning experiences, social interactions, and deep personal reflection. This research develops a theory that describes how Islamic identity among Madrasah Ibtidaiyah students is formed within the learning context. The findings provide important insights for curriculum development and teaching strategies aimed at supporting the formation of students' Islamic identity. The implications of this study also highlight the need for stronger support from families and the school environment to facilitate a positive identity formation process.

Background and aim: Grounded theory has taken some different theoretical perspectives since its creation in 1967 by Barney Glaser. Considering that applying grounded theory partly depends on an awareness of its philosophical perspectives, gaining knowledge about these various perspectives is required for health care professionals who are interested in studying the social processes. This review was conducted to provide an understanding of the evolution of philosophical backgrounds of grounded theory. Methods: Relevant literature focused on constructivist or objectivist grounded theory were retrieved from MEDLINE, ISI and Scopus databases, bibliographies of obtained articles as well as related books. The identified data were critically reviewed from the viewpoint of the different types of philosophical backgrounds of grounded theory approach. Results:Grounded theory has two different perspectives. Objectivist grounded theory is rooted in post-positivist epistemology, whereas constructivist grounded theory has its roots in an interpretive tradition and relativism. The Glaserian approach is an objectivist grounded theory and based on etic position, where the researcher is separate from and looks at the social realities. However, the Straussian approach is a constructivist grounded theory and based on emic position, where the researchers co-construct the data through adopting a position of mutuality and partnership between participant and researcher and create the theory of a social process using their own perspectives, values, privileges, interactions and understanding of the social realities. Conclusions: Adopting an appropriate grounded theory approach by health care professionals depends on understanding of the philosophical foundations of the social processes and structures

PurposeThis paper presents participants' experiences of the collaborative process. The paper introduces the World Heritage Site and presents the central learning outcomes of a process through which researchers and practitioners sought to develop an empirically-grounded, site-specific and practice-led research agenda relevant to World Heritage management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an approach to improving collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the World Heritage field.Design/methodology/approachFrom September 2021 to April 2022, a research-practice team comprised of social scientists and managers of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site in Norway participated in a capacity-building pilot initiative under the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership programme. Bringing researchers and practitioners together in a joint collaborative process, the Heritage Place Lab (HPL) pilot programme aimed to function as an incubator for developing research agendas for World Heritage Sites.FindingsThe paper demonstrates that close collaboration between heritage researchers and practitioners can benefit World Heritage Sites, offering managers valuable inputs for informed and inclusive decision-making. In the case of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, an improved understanding of the diversities in local values would benefit management, as existing management issues underpin the site's complexity. Furthermore, fruitful collaborations between heritage researchers and World Heritage managers depend on an overlapping and reflexive understanding of central concepts. This can be achieved through collaborative research-practice processes but is likely to require careful time management.Originality/valueFocussing on the collaborative process between World Heritage researchers and practitioners, and using additional information for comparable World Heritage examples obtained online, this paper shows how research interests and management challenges can be developed and aligned more successfully through cooperation and improved communication over time. Beyond the specific results for the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, the broader discussion presented on the challenges and importance of addressing the complexities of managing heritage sites will be valuable for other World Heritage Sites and managers.

For a long period of time, quantitative research style has dominated market research. However, in recent years, thanks to the diversity of topics on the market, as well as the development of new technologies, the advent of the Internet, research has increasingly applied the use of qualitative methods with various data collection instruments. The paper points out the importance of market research, especially research on consumer behavior and satisfaction in modern society - a society of constant, accelerated and major changes. This research has an indisputable value for the functioning, organization of the company, development of strategies for good positioning and maintaining the competitiveness of the company, in general for its survival and success in the market. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of qualitative methods and point out the need for methodological pluralism in market research. The paper emphasizes two qualitative methods - the method of observation and qualitative content analysis. The most important properties of these methods, the way of their application, justification and scope of their use in the research of consumer behavior and satisfaction are presented.

World Heritage (WH) sites are areas for international conservation of nature and culture with outstanding universal values. The Nordic countries possess two large landscapes with WH recognition that serve as a base for this study, the WH Laponia and the WH High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago. The WH Laponia in Sweden combines both cultural and natural value; the Norwegian area of Laponia is not designated WH, but represents an area with governmental ambitions to become an UNESCO WH site. The WH High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago (Sweden/Finland) is a serial-nominated, transnational WH site designated purely on nature merits. Within these WH sites, there are local communities and indigenous peoples with democratic rights who participate in the management of the areas and use the local resources of their natural environment.This article analyses the processes of WH nomination and implementation of the WH Convention (1972) in the Nordic countries. It also depicts a strong Nordic tradition of transnational learning (TNL) which is also used within WH governance. The article uses comparative methods and theories of governance, co-management, transnational governance and TNL in the analysis of the transboundary WH sites. The empirical results illustrate the challenges of local democratic participation in the national and transnational decision-making regarding nomination and implementation of the WH Convention. It suggests that deficiency of democratic participation during early stages in pre-WH designation processes may be compensated by TNL. Learning between and within WH-related networks and groups, show in the Nordic perspective examples of incorporating WH stakeholders in cooperation across national borders. TNL may be restricted by cultural and legal limitations.

This study provides a quantitative overview of contemporary consumer behavior research in the 21st century (2001–2020) to inform future research directions in consumer behavior research. Using co‐citation analyses, this study identifies the most cited authors, publications, and academic journals in consumer behavior research in each of four 5‐year intervals in 2001–2020 to profile research themes and relationships among different research clusters. Key research themes are then mapped based on co‐citation matrices. The results show that major research themes in consumer behavior research in the last two decades have shifted from the focus on fundamentals of consumer behavior, consumers' decision‐making process, development of more robust measures and analytical methods to the focus on service quality and consumer satisfaction, online consumer behavior and virtual communities, sustainable consumption, as well as the experiential aspects of consumer behavior. The findings help map the invisible knowledge network embedded in contemporary consumer behavior research and shed light on future research agenda in consumer behavior studies.

The new possibilities offered by digital technologies facilitate advanced forms of exchange and interaction between consumers and businesses. Thanks to the Internet, consumers are presented with new opportunities to enhance their power in relationships with businesses. Besides having access to an unprecedented amount of information, online consumers can compare a vast range of products, access independent and professional sources of expertise, and interact in an efficient and productive manner with firms and institutions. As a result, online consumers may play an active role in both marketing communication programmes and the design of products and their related sets of benefits and values. These consumers are more willing and prepared to disseminate their opinions about brands and products -whether supportive or unfavourable, and even to sanction firms among far-reaching audiences. Online consumers benefit from a collective intelligence, demand greater control over their shopping experience and the design of value propositions in terms of their own individual interests. In the context of digital technologies, businesses are better prepared to face the challenges of satisfying online consumers. In addition to benefiting from Internet-based processing systems to manage great masses of consumer data, firms may adopt advanced customer-centric paradigms and define and develop e-marketing strategies and programmes that are more precise and more closely matched to customers' needs. The potential of digital technologies to transform the marketing environment has resulted in a great deal of research on the online consumer and the business strategies and orientations which companies adopt in order to build relationships with consumers through the Internet. Initial research has mostly focused on developing consumer profiles and identifying online segments in this digital marketing environment. However, the expansion of ecommerce in general and the widespread adoption of the Internet as a marketing channel led to the appearance of a broad and varied array of research topics on consumer behaviour and e-marketing. This includes the e-shopping decision, online consumer satisfaction and loyalty, and trust in purchasing decisions on the Internet. Interest in qualitative approaches to research in e-marketing and online consumer behaviour has increased in recent times, thus facilitating a more in-depth analysis of the motivations and perceptions of connected consumers. Qualitative approaches enable researchers to access online consumer behaviour, often through direct observation, in its natural environment. They facilitate the analyses of how consumers shop and interact with one another by means of digital technologies. Importantly, such research is consumer-centric, focusing on emerging consumer perspectives rather than a researcher-defined agenda. In this way, qualitative research allows gaining deep insights and a better understanding of consumer behaviour which might not otherwise be possible by adopting solely quantitative approaches. Thus, qualitative methods may be considered as important elements in the Internet researcher's toolbox. In fact, with the development of social networking, qualitative and mixed methods approaches may emerge as important contributors to the field: in ways such as helping to discover the new forms through which the Internet empowers consumers; facilitating the exploration of new routes for co-creation of value and for consumer participation in the innovation processes; aiding with the evaluation of the impact of personalization practices developed within eCRM programmes on consumers; and, promoting the analysis of consumer behaviour in virtual consumption communities. With this editorial project we aim to reflect on and discuss the use of qualitative techniques within e-marketing research. A collection of high-quality theoretical and qualitative-empirical analyses - which have undergone a rigorous triple-blind review process - is presented. …

36 - Importance of a “Toolbox”: A Grounded Theory of long-term self-management after pelvic floor muscle training

Who is sensitising whom? A participatory interview guide development as an awareness tool within a health care research project

Making tourism experiences more meaningful at the local level remains a challenge. Research using grounded theory (GT) was conducted in the context of Eskisehir Osmangazi Universitesi (ESOGU) Tourism Camp, and is significant in terms of boosting local tourism. This study aimed to generate a GT that could reveal the main concern emerging from the interactive processes at ESOGU Tourism Camp and explain how it was resolved. Classic GT allowed the researchers to examine a little-explored phenomenon from an internal perspective, without formulating a hypothesis or any pre-insights, by conceptualizing the participants’ authentic experiences. Following Glaser’s (2001) statement that “all is data,” the researchers chose ESOGU Tourism Camp, focusing on experiences during the process of producing photos. Based on the rules of classic GT, the researchers carried out the study as a cyclical process, whereby both data collection and analysis were implemented simultaneously (i.e., memos were written, the data was conceptualized and returned to collection again until theoretical saturation was achieved and a GT was formed). A new GT could promote local tourism and sustainable development.

Many veterans suffer chronic pain, which may be exacerbated by military shaped attitudes to health. There is a paucity of research that explores veterans’ experiences of developing coping strategies to manage chronic pain. This study employed a qualitative, Grounded Theory (GT) approach with seven participants. The participant involvement was via in-depth semi-structured interviews (male-6, female-1, mean age-46.0yrs, mean service-17.71yrs, mean pain-9.14yrs, pain sites-7, multiple pain sites-71%). The analysis led to the development of a theory of veterans’ relationship with chronic pain (CP). The analysis produced five theoretical categories that informed the Grounded Theory of veterans’ pain management strategies: “Oscillating Emotional Responses,“ “Activation of Coping Strategies.” “Ambivalent Help-Seeking Patterns,” and “Knowledge as Power.” The participants’ familiarity with military conditioning enabled them to feel in control of the uncontrollable and employ practical, pragmatic approaches to managing pain. Civilian status was associated with feeling somewhat vulnerable and less in control. The findings of this study are supported by previous studies, although this study challenges the view that veterans are poor help-seekers. Whilst veterans may have experiences that exacerbate pain unnecessarily, other experiences may reduce pain. Therefore, it is essential to employ a veteran-civilian approach to care management to understand the impact that collective life experience has on pain management. A veteran-civilian approach could be incorporated into personalized future pain management programs. By providing a rich sample of data, this research provides a basis for future studies to expand upon the current theory of veterans’ relationship with CP.