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Melanie Birks and Jane Mills 2015
First published 2012. Reprinted 2012, 2013. This edition 2015
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014945201
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4462-9577-9
ISBN 978-1-4462-9578-6 (pbk)
Editor: Jai Seaman
Assistant editor: Lily Mehrbod
Production editor: Ian Antcliff
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Marketing manager: Sally Ransom
Cover design: Shaun Mercier
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Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Limited at The Dorset Press, Dorchester, DT1 1HD
About the Authors
Melanie Birksis employed as Professor of Nursing at James Cook University, Australia, a role which serves her passions for education, research and nursing. Her primary focus is on the promotion of scholarship in teaching and learning through mentorship and fostering a culture of research. She has extensive experience in international education, having taught in Hong Kong, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Malaysia. Her research interests are in the areas of accessibility, innovation, relevance and quality in nursing education to ensure preparation of graduates who are industry-ready and able to make a contribution to the profession. Her commitment to research is reflected in her publication history, which includes numerous journal articles and book chapters. Most recently, she co-authored a qualitative research text for graduate students,
Qualitative Methodology: A Practical Guide with Jane. Visit Melanie Birks website at https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/melanie.birks/Jane Millsis Professor of Nursing, Director, Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research and Deputy Dean of the Graduate Research School at James Cook University, Australia. In this role Jane works closely with students and academic staff to build research and research education with the intent of creating a brighter future for life in the tropics worldwide through graduates and discoveries that make a difference. Janes research is in the areas of primary health care, health workforce development, health systems strengthening, and teaching and learning using both grounded theory and mixed methods. Jane has published extensively in the area of qualitative methodology, with her work on grounded theory particularly well received. She has been writing with Melanie for nearly 10 years and together they have produced a number of important peer-reviewed articles and books that have guided students in their own work. Visit Jane Mills website at http://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/jane.mills/
Acknowledgements
We are delighted to have been asked to produce this second edition of Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide for SAGE. Our aim in the production of the first edition was to assist the reader in understanding philosophical and methodological concepts inherent in research and, in particular, demystify some of the complexities associated with grounded theory. Feedback received from students and teachers across the globe has confirmed our success in this regard. In producing this second edition, we hope to further our work in promoting the practical use of grounded theory in the conduct of research.
Once again we wish to thank our eternally patient families for their support while we worked on producing this text and acknowledge our original research mentors Professor Karen Francis and Professor Ysanne Chapman. Our thanks also go to all those who shared their experience of grounded theory in the Windows into grounded theory that feature throughout the original text and this revised edition. We would particularly like to express our appreciation for the invaluable support of our research assistant, Jennifer Chamberlain-Salaun and our Dean, Professor Lee Stewart. Finally, we gratefully acknowledge the professional guidance of our publisher, Jai Seaman, and editorial assistance of Lily Mehrbod at SAGE Publications.
One Essentials of Grounded Theory
Learning Objectives
This chapter will help you to:
- Summarize the historical background of grounded theory
- Discuss methodological influences on grounded theory as an approach to research
- Outline key positions taken in the literature about grounded theory
- Identify a personal philosophical position
- Define essential grounded theory methods
Introduction
Grounded theory is one of the most popular research designs in the world. Not only are there thousands of publications that report on studies using grounded theory methods, but there is also a collection of seminal texts that researchers can use to guide their study and ensure the rigour of their work. So why then, you may ask, is there a need for another book on grounded theory? For beginning researchers, including graduate students, the magnitude of information that exists about grounded theory methods and findings has made engaging in a grounded theory study a complicated endeavour. Trying to understand the general principles of grounded theory in the context of the debate and discussion that is so much a part of this research tradition can be incredibly difficult. Where to start? What to read? Who to follow? And why? This book aims to provide you with a place to begin as you explore the wider grounded theory literature.
