Using Grounded Theory with Technology Cases: Distilling Critical Theory from a Multinational Information Systems Development Project

Research on information technologies (IT) in China has gained increasing attention in the international information systems (IS) community. This study systematically reviews papers on IT in China published in the ‘Senior Scholars’ Basket of Journals’ from 2000 to 2013. We have two specific objectives: to identify key research issues and trends, and to propose future directions for research on IT in China. This paper categorizes the global distribution of authors and their research methods. Five research streams are identified, including human behaviors in IS adoption and use, IS management, e-Business, social media, digital collaborations and group support, and industry and societal issues in IS. While each stream is examined in detail, we specifically pay attention to the effect of the Chinese context in each paper and the approaches to contextualizing the research. On the basis of our findings from the literature review, we propose a focus on the Chinese context as guidance for future research.

The grounded theory method provides a systematic way to generate theoretical constructs or concepts that illuminate psychosocial processes common to individual who have a similar experience of the phenomenon under investigation. There has been an increase in the number of published research reports that use the grounded theory method. However, there has been less medical education research, which is based on the grounded theory tradition. The purpose of this paper is to introduce basic tenants of qualitative research paradigm with specific reference to ground theory. The paper aims to encourage readers to think how they might possibly use the grounded theory method in medical education research and to apply such a method to their own areas of interest. The important features of a grounded theory as well as its implications for medical education research are explored. Data collection and analysis are also discussed. It seems to be reasonable to incorporate knowledge of this kind in medical education research.

Analysing four case vignettes in a grounded theory approach, this exploratory paper investigates the architecture and design principles of international information systems. A two-dimensional topology for international information systems—suggested in previous research—was confirmed as a useful architecture paradigm. In its terms, international information systems are configured from two elements: ‘Core’ systems (common for the whole enterprise) on the one hand and ‘Local’ systems (different for each site) on the other. The interface between the two is a third component. One case vignette in particular highlights the logical and organisational difficulties in defining these systems elements. Object orientation as the fundamental design principle is investigated as an approach to provide a solution for this problem. Because it enables implementation differentiation and flexibility for future functional changes, it is conjectured that object technology is an optimal—technical—development strategy for international information systems. Directions for further research are outlined.Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.

The article the essence of international information systems and technologies in the hotel and restaurant sphere. The need to integrate software into the operation of hotel complexes and restaurants as a basis for the formation and strengthening of competitive advantages for business entities in the rapidly growing market of hotel and restaurant services is substantiated. The role and features of the use of individual tools of international information technologies and systems in the hotel and restaurant business are highlighted. Information and communication facilities, components and tools that enable the storage, access, monitoring, processing and transmission of information in digital form are described. The most popular and downloaded programs in the hotel and restaurant industry in the world according to the results are described. The most common trends in information systems and technologies in the hotel and restaurant business have been identified, including mobile technologies (mobile applications, chatbots, virtual queues, QR codes for menus), contactless payments, the Internet of Things, robots, and virtual tours. The use of information and communication technologies in the hotel and restaurant business are highlighted.

This review of Grounded Theory and Grounded Theorizing: Pragmatism in Research Practice, by Anthony Bryant (2017), aims to provide a perspective on the grounded theory method (GTM) from a pragmatic worldview. The book offers case examples of dissertations build on GTM. Bryant speaks about research in general, describes the development and an overview of GTM concepts, and provides step-by-step examples for practicing GTM. In this book review I, the reviewer, offer personal reflections as a novice researcher to GTM and pragmatism. I provide two “book-trailers” of the book that identify highlights of the book for me.

Babinat and the development of microcomputer-based national documentation networks in the less developed countries

Chapter 6 - Eastern Europe

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.

Grounded Theory (GT) is a latent pattern recognition research method that was developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967). GT, which can use either quantitative or qualitative data, is a general research methodology and it produces empirically grounded but modifiable theory. Since the development of GT in 1967, some researchers have attempted to modify the original GT method, and remodelled GT approaches have been widely used in Information Systems (IS) research, often with unfortunate results due to disregard of the basic rules of the original GT. The continued use of remodelled GT methods has caused confusion and has prevented those in the IS research community from stimulating the development of new theory, which is the main benefit of using GT as it was originally outlined. Following publication of the original grounded theory by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Glaser (1978) went on to explain in detail how to operationalize the GT method. Despite this, some researchers mistakenly continued to classify GT as a subset of the qualitative data analysis research methodology. In doing so, they reveal that they have misunderstood both the purpose of GT and how to use it correctly. In this paper the author will concentrate on the authentic approach to GT, which is termed “Classic Ground Theory” (CGT), so as to differentiate it from any misconceived remodelled version of the theory. This paper explains how CGT can be carried out in an IS context by trusting in the emergence from the data of the required information, rather than forcing it.

Little research has been done on the experience of diabetes-related amputation. The aim of this study was to allow amputees to describe their experiences of amputation and to generate grounded theory that will lead health professionals towards a more comprehensive understanding of the realities of post-amputation life. Unstructured interviews were conducted with five participants with a diabetes-related amputation living in a rural setting, and their respective carers. The interviews were analysed using Grounded Theory methods. Data analysis revealed three categories: ‘imposed powerlessness’, ‘adaptive functionality’ and ‘endurance’. The impact of participant’s amputations were influenced by continuing limb problems post-amputation and co-existing complications affecting their physical function. Medical errors and lack of awareness of the risks for diabetic amputations resulted in uncertainty and fear. The participants’ sense of grief, loss and shock post operatively continued later as they came to terms with their awkwardness of movement, yet they moved forward developing their own sense of hope through a coping process that revealed remarkable ability to endure and exert control over lives that seemed to be at the whim of an ongoing disease process. The substantive theory resulting from this grounded theory study was conceptualised as ‘A Path of Perpetual Resilience’. It is important that psychosocial and not just physical adjustment is considered an indicator for determining outcomes for these people, and that future care involves strategies to promote this. A greater sample size is required to determine if these findings are transferable to the general diabetes-related amputation population.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the adaptation process of correctional officers’ job stress. Methods: Participants collected were fourteen officers who had experienced the adaptation process of job stress. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews until the point of theoretical saturation from May to August, 2017. Transcribed interview contents were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss’ grounded theory method. Results: A total of 98 concepts, 27 subcategories, and 10 categories were identified through the open coding. As a result of axial coding based on the paradigm model, the job stress adaptation process centering phenomenon of correctional officers was revealed as ‘repeat-mark hardening’, and the core category was extracted as ‘endurance in hardening’ consisting of a three-step process: enduring, understanding prisoner management procedures, and rebuilding. The rebuilding was considered as the key phase to escape the repeat-mark hardening and the participants utilized various strategies such as finding fun elsewhere, restoring confidence, accepting values of the prison officer in this phase. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the adaptation process of correctional officers’ job stress can be a process that endurance the hardening. Therefore, it is necessary to develop systematic practical education and vocational motivation programs.

In this study, we aimed to understand how active duty service members and their partners navigate the infertility care process within the Military Health System (MHS) while managing a military career. We obtained Institutional Review Board approval to employ a qualitative design using grounded theory methods. We recruited participants using purposive sampling, followed by theoretical sampling. We derived data from demographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Consistent with grounded theory methods, we began analysis with line-by-line coding and moved to focused coding. We employed constant comparative analysis throughout the process to name, categorize, and conceptualize data and relationships. The participants included 28 patients, five partners, nine health care providers, and two military leaders. The infertility care process began with active duty service members and their partners recognizing the desire to have a child and discovering infertility, followed by deciding to seek infertility care. The experience was temporally bound within the context of the military environment. We identified the following themes, which described facilitators and barriers to accessing care: Duty station location, career stage, military versus the civilian cost of services, command climate, and policy. These facilitators and barriers varied widely across the Department of Defense (DoD), which resulted in fragmented and inconsistent care cycles, contributed to emotional and physical stress, and created tension between career progression and family formation. Understanding how military couples perceive and manage demands of infertility care may enhance access to care, decrease patient costs, improve outcomes, result in better support for military couples who experience infertility, and ultimately improve the health and military readiness of our armed forces. The results support the need for action by providers, policy makers, and military leaders to develop effective infertility treatment programs and policies in the DoD.

Initial versions of the translation process research database (TPR-DB), were released around 2011 in an attempt to integrate translation process data from several until then individually collected and scattered translation research projects. While the earlier individual studies had a clear focus on quantitative assessment of well-defined research questions on cognitive processes in human translation production, the integration of the data into the TPR-DB allowed for broader qualitative and exploratory research which has led to new codes, categories and research themes. In a constant effort to develop and refine the emerging concepts and categories and to validate the developing theories, the TPR-DB has been extended with further translation studies in different languages and translation modes. In this respect, it shares many features with Grounded Theory Method. This method was discovered in 1967 and used in qualitative research in social science ad many other research areas. We analyze the TPR-DB development as a Grounded Theory Method.1

A deeper understanding of how multimedia-based instruction interacts with the cognitive processes of EFL learners during listening tasks is needed to maximize its effectiveness. By employing a grounded theory approach, this study aimed to develop a theoretical framework that explains how multimedia-based instruction influences EFL learners' cognitive processes during listening tasks. Two higher education institutions were chosen based on the consideration that they have experienced the use of multimedia in teaching and learning EFL listening skills. Twenty-four students were selected for a theoretical sampling with an open sampling pattern to help researchers form the best theory. To enhance the understanding of the phenomenon, participant observation and semi-structured interviews served as the primary data collection techniques in this study. The researchers directly observed the process of teaching listening and then proceeded with a semi-structured interview. This study had three stages of the data analysis process: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The results indicated the cognitive effects of multimedia-based instruction on students' listening skills include improved comprehension and enhanced knowledge retention. It also developed a theory that links educational technology, cognitive psychology, and language acquisition through data analysis using the grounded theory method. This hypothesis implies that multimedia facilitates complex mental processes and enables students to process information effectively, understand it better, and retain it in their long-term memory.

Researchers working with Aboriginal Australian partners are confronted with an array of historical, social, and political complexities which make it difficult to come to theoretical and methodological decisions. In this article, we describe a culturally safe and respectful framework that maintains the intellectual and theoretical rigor expected of academic research. As an Aboriginal woman and two non-Aboriginal women, we discuss the arguments and some of the challenges of using grounded theory methods in Aboriginal Australian contexts, giving examples from our studies of Aboriginal empowerment processes. We argue that the ethics of care and responsibility embedded in Aboriginal research methodologies fit well with grounded theory studies of Aboriginal social processes. We maintain that theory development grounded in data provides useful insights into the processes for raising the health, well-being, and prosperity of Aboriginal Australians.