STATISTICAL METHOD
Grounded Theory Analysis
Qualitative Consulting for Theory Building
We apply grounded theory analysis through constant comparison, theoretical sampling and memo-writing within the variant you have chosen, documenting how categories were built and tested so that the resulting theory is grounded in your data.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Fixed Project Fee
Same-Day Response
METHOD OVERVIEW
What Is Grounded Theory?
Grounded theory is a qualitative methodology for developing a theory, usually an explanatory account of a social process, from systematically collected and analyzed data. Collection and analysis proceed together through constant comparison, theoretical sampling guides who or what is studied next, and memo-writing records the developing ideas. The variants differ on the researcher’s role and the use of the literature: classic (Glaser), Strauss and Corbin’s open, axial and selective coding, and constructivist (Charmaz). It is not a general coding technique. OnlineSPSS, a specialist statistical consultancy for academic, clinical and professional research, provides grounded theory methodology support, with the coding structure and records that make theory development transparent, while the theory stays yours.
WHEN TO ENGAGE
When Is Grounded Theory Appropriate?
Grounded theory fits questions about how a process unfolds, and these are the situations in which researchers most often ask us to apply or confirm it.
Theory Needed, Not Description The question is how a process unfolds or why people act as they do, and the aim is an explanatory account grounded in the data, not a list of themes.
Data Collection Still Underway Interviews are ongoing, so analysis can still steer who is recruited next and what is asked, which theoretical sampling needs and a finished dataset cannot offer.
Topic With Little Prior Theory The literature does not explain the process under study, and the researcher wants categories developed from participants' accounts instead of imported from elsewhere.
Reviewing a Completed Analysis A grounded theory study is written up, and a reviewer asked whether it used constant comparison. Independent Statistical Review looks at how the categories were built.
ANALYTICAL APPROACH
How We Apply Grounded Theory
Within the family of Qualitative & Mixed Methods, grounded theory is applied through the variant that matches your epistemology.
Variant and Literature Use We fit the variant to your position: classic, Strauss and Corbin's staged coding or Charmaz's constructivist approach, each with its own place for the literature and the researcher.
Constant Comparison and Coding Incidents, codes and categories are compared continuously, from initial coding toward focused or axial coding, so categories gain properties and do not stay descriptive labels.
Theoretical Sampling Decisions Later participants and questions are chosen to develop emerging categories, not to be representative. Collection and analysis run together, and each sampling step is logged.
Memos and Saturation Judgment Memos run alongside coding. Theoretical saturation is a reasoned judgment that categories are developed, not a count of interviews, and it is argued in writing from the memos.
DELIVERABLES
What You Receive
As part of our Qualitative & Mixed Methods Analysis service, the study is documented with the memos, sampling records and files needed to report and defend it.
Data & Variable Review Transcripts and field notes are checked, de-identified and ordered by collection date, since the sequence of data collection matters for theoretical sampling.
Method-Specific Checks Coding is reviewed for constant comparison and not one pass, and categories are tested against new data, negative cases and alternative groupings before they are closed.
Statistical Results The codes and categories with definitions and properties, the relations among them, and a core category where the variant uses one, each supported by data extracts.
Publication-Ready Tables & Figures Category tables with extracts, a diagram of the categories and their relations, and a sampling and saturation summary, formatted to SRQR or journal requirements.
Interpretation The categories are read within the variant's claims, with the scope, transferability and limits of the emerging theory stated, as a base for your own theoretical argument.
Reproducible Analysis Files The coded NVivo, MAXQDA or ATLAS.ti project is provided with the memos, sampling log and revision record, so the route from data to categories can be followed.
ALTERNATIVE METHODS
When Another Method May Be More Appropriate
We choose the method by what the study must produce. Grounded theory builds an explanation of a process, and these methods fit other aims and designs.
01
Thematic Analysis
When the aim is to describe patterns of shared meaning across a dataset, not to build a theory of a process, thematic analysis fits better and needs no theoretical sampling.
02
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
When the question is how a few people experience a particular event, IPA examines each account in depth, where grounded theory compares incidents across many accounts.
03
Narrative Analysis
When the story itself, with its sequence and plot, is the object of study, narrative analysis keeps each account whole instead of breaking it into codes and categories.
04
Framework Analysis
When the questions and a working structure are set in advance and cases are compared in a matrix, framework analysis fits better than an open, theory-building design.
CASE EXAMPLE
How We Work in Practice
An illustration of how a grounded theory design moves from a protocol to categories that can be defended.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE · PATIENT ADVOCACY RESEARCH · UNITED STATES
A patient advocacy nonprofit wanted to understand how people with a chronic condition decide whether to disclose it at work, and needed an explanation, not a list of reasons.
The protocol, written before data collection, specified constructivist grounded theory with purposive, then theoretical, sampling, constant comparison and memos kept during coding. The first interviews produced categories that were mostly lists of reasons. Memos suggested that disclosure worked as a process of weighing exposure against support, so recruitment turned to people who had disclosed late or never, to test and refine that idea. Each sampling decision was logged, and the researchers argued for theoretical saturation in their memos once later interviews stopped adding to the main categories, not by citing a sample size.
Outcome: The team received the category definitions with extracts, the memo and sampling log, a diagram of the categories for the team's own theorizing, and a methods paragraph naming the variant.
This example does not describe a real client or project. We never share details of actual client work, in line with the confidentiality we promise every researcher. This illustrative example is included to show the type, scope, and standard of work involved in this kind of analysis.
SOFTWARE
Software for Coding, Memos and Diagrams
Coding, memos and category diagrams are built in qualitative software, while R only tabulates the theoretical sample and never generates categories.
RESEARCH DISCIPLINES
Grounded Theory Across Research Fields
Grounded theory and the constant comparative method are used across research fields, each with its own phenomena, preferred variant and reporting conventions.
A Defined Process for Your Analysis
We review your transcripts, research question and chosen variant before any work begins, so the scope, deliverables, timeline and fixed project fee are clear from the outset.
01
Share Your Research Materials
Send your dataset, research question, study design and any existing analysis plan or output. We will let you know if anything else is needed to assess the project.
02
Receive Your Assessment
Your statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the project and confirms the required analysis, deliverables, timeline and fixed project price before work begins.
03
Analysis & Delivery
Once you confirm the scope, an in-house statistician completes the agreed analysis and delivers the outputs, interpretation and reporting files.
RESEARCHER VOICE
What Researchers Say
Feedback from a researcher who needed coding, constant comparison and category development kept consistent with grounded theory.
“I had results from Grounded Theory, but the interpretation still felt shaky because of how to keep coding, constant comparison, and category development consistent with grounded theory. They checked the model, corrected the parts that needed attention, and made the final reporting much more defensible. We also received a reproducible analysis file, which made later revisions much easier.”
RESEARCH RESPONSIBILITY
Statistical Support Without Taking Over Your Research
We provide the methodological support for your grounded theory study, while the theory, its claims and the authorship stay entirely with you.
Agreed Statistical Support We provide the agreed methodological, analytical and reporting support for your grounded theory study, within the scope confirmed before work begins.
No Intellectual Contribution OnlineSPSS claims no intellectual contribution to your research. Our work is methodological support, and authorship remains yours.
Your Research Decisions The research question, the core ideas of the theory, its name and its claims remain with you, and our interpretation stays within what the data and the design support.
Confidential Handling Interview data, memos and project details are handled confidentially and are not published. An NDA is available where required and can be arranged before sensitive materials are shared.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions About Grounded Theory
Short answers to what researchers ask before a grounded theory study, from variants and saturation to confidentiality and the assessment process.
Which grounded theory variant suits my research?
The variant follows your epistemological position and how you will use the literature. Classic grounded theory (Glaser) stresses emergence and delays the literature, Strauss and Corbin structure coding into open, axial and selective stages, and Charmaz’s constructivist version treats the theory as co-constructed with participants. They are not interchangeable, so we name the variant and apply it consistently.
Grounded theory or thematic analysis for my data?
Grounded theory builds a theory of a process, with constant comparison and theoretical sampling steering data collection. Thematic analysis describes patterns of meaning and needs neither. Coding once, with no sampling decisions and no memos, and then calling it grounded theory gives a thematic analysis under another name, which reviewers often notice.
How do I know theoretical saturation is reached?
Theoretical saturation is a judgment, not a number: the categories are developed in their properties and relations, and further data no longer add to them. It is argued from the memos and the sampling log, and it differs from data saturation, which only says that no new topics appear. Closing categories early produces description in place of explanation.
Can you review an analysis that has already been completed?
Yes, we can review a completed grounded theory study before submission or in response to reviewers. We look for constant comparison, theoretical sampling, memos written during coding and consistency with the chosen variant, then explain where the account reads as description and what the data can support.
How do you protect my dataset and research confidentiality?
Transcripts, field notes, memos, sampling logs and coded project files are handled confidentially, and project information is not published. An NDA is available where required and can be arranged before sensitive materials are shared. Read more about confidentiality and data security.
What happens when I request an assessment, and how long does it take?
You share your research question, design and relevant materials, and a statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the request and responds the same day. The analysis, deliverables, timeline and one fixed project fee are then confirmed before any work begins, so the timeline follows from the agreed scope.
Still have a question? Find more answers in our full FAQ.
NEXT STEP
Need Support With a
Grounded Theory Study?
Share your research question, data collected so far and chosen variant. We assess whether grounded theory fits and confirm the scope before any work begins.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
Fixed Project Fee
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Same-Day Response
Serving Researchers Since 2014