Conceptualizing Fully Integrated Mixed Method Grounded Theory

• In Event: Methodological Innovations in Mixed Methods Research

Abstract

Purpose and Objectives. Despite enthusiasm for its potential, there are few examples of mixed method approaches to grounded theory (MM-GT) available to serve as models for practice (Johnson, McGowan, & Turner, 2010; Guetterman et al., 2017). The aim of this presentation is to extend the conversation about MM-GT by illustrating its potential to generate classic grounded theory. The purpose is to offer an in-depth exploration of four exemplars of MM-GT intervention/evaluation studies to illustrate the potential that derives from integrating qualitative and quantitative data and analytical procedures.
The principal objective is to illustrate a model for developing MM-GT by using one or more exemplars to illustrate ways that mixing can be accomplished at (a) the design phase, (b) during analysis through theoretical coding and the pursuit of discordant data, and (c) at the inference phase by the construction of a composite theoretical model.

Perspectives or Theoretical Framework. Johnson et al. (2010) were the first to extend an argument for MM-GT by pointing to parallels between the complexity of the social world, the dialectical logic that underlies mixed methods methodology, and the multi-layered nature of many social problems. Johnson et al. and Walsh (2015) advocate for the potential of MM-GT to both generate and test formal or classic grounded theory that gives equal priority to qualitative and quantitative data. The concepts in a formal grounded theory are both abstract and general, and specify links between constructs that are assumed to extend to multiple substantive areas (Charmaz, 2014).

Methods/Data Sources. Using a standard set of search terms, I pinpointed a narrowly defined purposive sample of MM-GT publications that not only set out to develop theory, but also displayed the product in a visualization that is consistent with the expectations of formal theory. I further screened the articles with two additional criteria: they (a) provide sufficient documentation of the use of a systematic set of grounded theory and mixed method procedures, and (b) generated a composite theoretical framework that combined qualitative and quantitatively derived constructs and paths. This procedure yielded four articles that reported on the outcomes of a clinical/health related or educational intervention. All but one deals with topics related to health and wellness.

Results. Although no single publication accomplishes this, when considered together, the exemplars demonstrate that it possible to conceptualize a fully integrated approach to MM-GT. This can be accomplished through the crafting of multi-level research questions, the use of theoretical coding to identify paths and processes in a formal grounded theoretical model that can be later tested quantitatively, the use of theoretical sampling to pursue discordant data, and in the construction of a multi-level model that merges qualitative and quantitative constructs and paths.

Scholarly Significance. The analysis illustrates the untapped potential for the development of formal grounded theory with mixed method research involving the evaluation of educational and health-related interventions.

Author

• Elizabeth G. Creamer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University