Conclusions
This paper has presented practical details of a tested and tried procedure which it is hoped will be of use to researchers facing the problem of analysing qualitative data, and particularly to those interested in the use of grounded theory. Behind the presentation of this procedure lies a concern that the processes of research should be as open as possible, so that neither the processes of research nor their findings are subjected to mystifications which conceal their true nature from other researchers, from the subjects of research, or from those seeking to understand the research findings when they are reported. There is, of course, an element of risk in advocating such frankness, for the researcher who lays his procedures open to public scrutiny may suddenly discover that, like the emperor, he has no clothes. But it would seem, in general, that the interests of social research can only be furthered by more discussion of the details of research procedures, particularly those which are close to the creative centre of theory building.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnold, D.O. (1970). “Dimensional sampling: an approach for studying a small number of cases”, American Sociologist 5: 147–150.
Bailyn, L. (1977). “Research a cognitive process: implications for data analysis”, Quality and Quantity 11: 97–117.
Baldamus, W. (1976). The Structure of Sociological Inference. London: Martin Robertson.
Barzun, J. and Graff, H.E. (1977). The Modern Researcher (3rd edn.). New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Beteille, A. (1976). “The dangers of research methodology”, International Social Science Journal 27: 195–197.
Blalock, H.M. (1969). Theory Construction from Verbal to Mathematical Variables. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Brown, G.W. (1973). “Some thoughts on grounded theory”, Sociology 7: 1–16.
Conrad, C.F. (1978). “A grounded theory of academic change”, Sociology of Education 51: 101–112.
Dubin, R. (1969). Theory Building: a Practical Guide to the Construction and Building of Theoretical Models. New York: Free Press.
Erikson, I. (1978). “Soft-data sociology”, Acta Sociologica 21: 103–124.
Finsterbusch, K. (1976a). “The mini-survey: an underemployed research tool”, Social Science Research 5: 81–93.
Finsterbusch, K. (1976b). “Demonstrating the value of mini-surveys in social research”, Sociological Methods and Research 5: 117–136.
Glaser, B. (1978). Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in the Methodology of Grounded Theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1964). “The social loss of dying patients”, American Journal of Nursing 64: 119–122.
Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1965a). Awareness of Dying. Chicago: Aldine.
Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1965b). “Temporal aspects of dying as a non-scheduled status passage”, American Journal of Sociology 71: 48–59.
Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1968). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Hage, J. (1965). “An axiomatic theory of organisations”, Administrative Science Quarterly 10: 289–320.
Hammond, P., ed. (1964). Sociologists at Work. New York: Basic Books.
Hawker, R. (1980). “Methodological problems involved in talking with patients' relatives”, unpublished paper, presented to The Royal College of Nursing Research Society Conference, Cardiff.
Lowe, J. (1977). “Facts and frameworks: aspects of the research process”, unpublished Masters Thesis, University of Birmingham.
Melbin, M. (1978). “Night as frontier”, American Sociological Review 43: 3–22.
Melia, K. (1979). “The qualitative method in social research”, unpublished paper, presented to The Royal College of Nursing Research Society Conference, Nottingham.
Miles, M.B. (1979). “Qualitative data as an attractive nuisance”, Administrative Science Quarterly 24: 590–601.
Mills, C.W. (1959). “On intellectual craftmanship”, Appendix to The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mo, L. (1978). “An adventure in exploratory research”, Acta Sociologica 21: 165–177.
Mullins, N.C. (1971). The Art of Theory Construction and Use. New York: Harper and Row.
Ogier, M. (1979). “The effect of ward sisters' management style upon nurse learners”, unpublished paper, presented to The Royal College of Nursing Research Society Conference, Nottingham.
Philips, D.L. (1971). Knowledge from What? Theories and Methods in Social Research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Polanyi, M. (1958). Personal Knowledge. London: Routledge.
Ravetz, J.R. (1971). Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Reeves, T.K. and Turner, B.A. (1972). “A theory of organisation in batch production factories”, Administrative Science Quarterly 17: 81–98.
Riley, J.N. and Sermsri, S. (1974). The Variegated Thai Medical System as a Context for Birth Control Services. Working Paper No. 6, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi, Phayathai, Bangkok 4, Thailand.
Roethlisberger, F.J. (1978). In G.F.F.Lombard, ed., The Elusive Phenomena. Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, Boston, MA.
Roos, J.P. (1979). “From oddball research to the study of real life: the use of qualitative methods in social science”, Acta Sociologica 22: 63–74.
Roy, R.H. (1980). “Review of The Elusive Phenomena”, American Journal of Sociology 85: 1473–4.
Schatzman, L. and Strauss, A.L. (1973). Field Research: Strategies for a Natural Sociology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Selye, H. (1965). From Dream to Discovery: on Being a Scientist. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sieber, S.D. (1976). “A synopsis and critique of guidelines for qualitative analysis contained in selected textbooks”, unpublished paper, Project on Social Architecture in Education, Centre for Policy Research, New York.
Smith, L.M. (1978). “An evolving logic of participant observation, educational ethnography and other case studies”, in L.Shulman, ed., Review of Research in Education. Chicago: Peacock Press.
Stinchcombe, A.L. (1978). Theoretical Methods in Social History. New York: Academic Press.
Suttles, G. (1968). The Social Order of the Slum: Ethnicity and Territory of the Inner City. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Trend, M.G. (1978). “On the reconciliation of qualitative and quantitative analyses: a case study”, Human Organisation 37: 345–354.
Trimble, E.G., Cherns, A.B., Jupp, B.C. and Turner, B.A. (1972). The Effectiveness of Cost Planning and Other Cost Control Techniques in Hospital Construction. Final report to Department of Health and Social Security. Loughborough: Loughborough University of Technology.
Turner, B.A. (1976). “The social preconditions associated with some large scale disasters”, in G.Peters and B.A.Turner, eds., Systems Performance: Human Factors and Systems Failures. Unit 4, Open University Course TD342, Faculty of Technology, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Turner, B.A. (1978). Man Made Disasters. London: Wykeham Press.
Watson, J.D. (1968). The Double Helix: a Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Whyte, W.F. (1978). “Review of The Elusive Phenomena”, Human Organisation 37: 412–420.
Whyte, W.F. (1979). “On making the most of participant observation”, American Sociologist 14: 56–66.
Willer, D.E. (1967). Scientific Sociology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Willer, D.E. and Willer, J. (1973). Systematic Empiricism: a Critique of a Pseudo-Science. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Woodward, J. (1970). “Outline history of the research”, Appendix II, pp. 249–255 in J.Woodward, ed., Industrial Organization: Behaviour and Control. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Turner, B.A. Some practical aspects of qualitative data analysis: One way of organising the cognitive processes associated with the generation of grounded theory. Qual Quant 15, 225–247 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164639
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164639