Literature reviews in grounded theory research Sample Clauses

Literature reviews in grounded theory research. The timing of literature reviews in Grounded Theory research is the subject of debate among scholars of grounded theory. The ‘classic’ approach to Grounded Theory, as originally described by Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxx, emphasised the importance of the researcher entering the field of study without preconceived ideas of the knowledge that might be ‘discovered’ within the data (Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxx 1967). This required the researcher to delay the literature review until the data had been collected, analysed, and when a theory (grounded in the data) had been generated. The justification for this delay was to ensure that the researcher did not view the data through the lens of earlier ideas or that these preconceived ideas might be imported into the current work (Xxxxx 2005, Charmaz 2006, Charmaz 2014); emphasising a process of discovery rather than reinforcing or testing existing knowledge and ideas. Similarly, the extent to which a researcher might enter the field of inquiry without pre-existing knowledge, perspective or experience of the subject under investigation, has created dispute among grounded theorists. In its original form, the Grounded Theory Method requires the researcher to be a ‘blank canvas’ when entering the field; it assumes that any theory that emerges from the data must be uncontaminated by a priori knowledge so that data is not ‘forced’ into categories that originate from existing studies (Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxx 2013, Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxx 1967). However, with such ‘naïve empiricism’ the researcher risks overlooking prior theoretical and research literature that could be a source of inspiration, ideas, creative associations and critical reflections (Xxxxxxxxx 2012), or could result in the rehashing of old empirical problems or dismissing the literature (Charmaz 2014). An informed approach to Grounded Theory is utilised in Constructivist Grounded Theory. Prior knowledge and extant theory are not seen as problematic or a source of potential weakness in the theory that is developed from the data. Instead, the Constructivist Grounded Theory approach recognises the researcher’s embeddedness within the historical, ideological and sociological context in which the study takes place (Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxx 2007, Charmaz 2006, Charmaz 2014, Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxxxxx 2011). Data therefore represent social constructions rather than objective views of reality and cannot be separated from existing knowledge (Xxxxxxxxx 2012). From the Constructivist Grounded Theory perspective...