Coding and analysis of qualitative data

Question 1

What is social constructionism?

Answer 1

The methodology assumes the organizational world is socially constructed, meaning researchers must interpret how people create and understand their realities.

Question 2

What is knowledgeable agents?

Answer 2

Organizational members are seen as knowledgeable about their actions and capable of articulating their experiences, making their insights crucial for data collection.

Question 3

What is research design?

Answer 3

Involves consulting existing literature with an open mind to identify gaps and potential for new concept development.

Question 4

What is data collection?

Answer 4

Uses semi-structured interviews as the core data source, supplemented by archival and observational data.

Ensures informants’ voices are prominently featured, capturing their lived experiences and interpretations.

Adopts flexible interview protocols that evolve as the study progresses to accommodate new insights.

Question 5

What is first order analysis?

Answer 5

Stays true to informants’ terms and language.

Generates a wide range of categories (often 50–100) in the initial phase to capture the richness of data.

Question 6

What is second-order analysis?

Answer 6

Groups first-order categories into broader themes using researcher-centric interpretations.

Seeks emergent concepts that either lack theoretical precedents or apply established ideas to new contexts.

Refines themes into overarching dimensions, creating a structured “data hierarchy.”

Question 7

What is data structure?

Answer 7

A tool that visually represents the progression from raw data to higher-order concepts and dimensions.

Helps demonstrate the link between data and theory.

Question 8

What is grounded theory development?

Answer 8

Constructs a dynamic model capturing relationships among concepts, moving from static categories to processes and interactions.

Employs theoretical sampling to refine insights iteratively until theoretical saturation is achieved.

Question 9

What is the Gioia Methodology?

Answer 9

particularly for inductive theory development. It is designed to address criticisms of qualitative research as being overly subjective and lacking methodological rigor while maintaining the creativity and discovery potential that qualitative research allows.

Question 10

What is another word for grounded theory?

Answer 10

emergent coding: generates theory from data

Question 11

What are the core elements of coding?

Answer 11

1. get to know your data
2. mark the text
3. code
4. relate to theory