How to use Grounded Theory Method (GTM) as a Research Tool for Qualitative Research and the problems associated with it.

Abstract

The advent of The Grounded Theory Method for conducting qualitative research seriously challenges the still conventional hypothesis-oriented “quantitative canon” that has predominates research for a long time. This article sets to clarify how research should be conducted using grounded theory method. The grounded theory as used in this article will refer to the outcome of research being conducted using grounded theory method while the grounded theory method will be used to refer to the method itself. This paper examines the origin of grounded theory method, why it came into use and the difficulty in applying it to conduct research that is grounded in theory. Grounded theory method, with its emphasis on research founded on directly gathered data, rather than initial hypotheses, offered a route whereby researchers could aim to produce insights in the form of substantive theories- that is conceptual statement or models that provided deep and practical insights into specific contexts but that required further work. It is hope that this article will provide a pathway to anyone attempting a qualitative research phenomenon to use Grounded theory method as a research tool that would create the rigorous phenomenon that has for long claimed to have devoid of qualitative research.