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Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Peters, Ina Working Paper Too Abstract to Be Feasible? Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research GIGA Working Papers, No. 247 Provided in Cooperation with: GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies Suggested Citation: Peters, Ina (2014) : Too Abstract to Be Feasible? Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research, GIGA Working Papers, No. 247, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/97304 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. 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Inclusion of a paper in the Working Papers serve to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior publicaton encourage exchange ideas and academic debate. Working GIGA GIGA Research Programme: Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems ___________________________ Too Abstract to Be Feasible? Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research Ina Peters No 247 May 2014 www.giga-hamburg.de/workingpapers GIGA Working Papers 247/2014 Edited by the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies Leibniz‐Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien The GIGA Working Papers series serves to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior to publication in order to encourage the exchange of ideas and academic debate. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presenta‐ tions are less than fully polished. Inclusion of a paper in the GIGA Working Papers series does not constitute publication and should not limit publication in any other venue. Copy‐ right remains with the authors. GIGA Research Programme “Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems” Copyright for this issue: © Ina Peters WP Coordination and English‐language Copy Editing: Melissa Nelson Editorial Assistance and Production: Silvia Bücke All GIGA Working Papers are available online and free of charge on the website <www.giga‐hamburg.de/workingpapers>. For any requests please contact: E‐mail: <workingpapers@giga‐hamburg.de> The GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies cannot be held responsible for errors or any consequences arising from the use of information contained in this Working Paper; the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author or authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies Leibniz‐Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien Neuer Jungfernstieg 21 20354 Hamburg Germany E‐mail: <info@giga‐hamburg.de> Website: <www.giga‐hamburg.de> GIGA Working Papers 247/2014 Too Abstract to Be Feasible? Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research Abstract Grounded theory methodology (GTM) has become a popular approach in the social sciences. Based on an iterative research design and reconstructive hermeneutic procedures, it enables scholars to reveal and comprehend patterns of understanding that are reproduced through linguistic and nonlinguistic symbols. Yet the vast literature on GTM often leaves scholars wondering how the method can be operationalized. This paper serves the dual purpose of providing a precise and comprehensive review of GTM sensu Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin while at the same time discussing its application in a social movement research project. Done thoroughly, GTM demands high levels of reflexivity, transparency, and openness from the qualitative scholar. I propose that these requirements concern not only the sampling and data collection but also the researcher’s previous assumptions, transcrip‐ tion, translation, and data quality. As the latter aspects are frequently neglected, the paper calls for more accuracy in the application and documentation of research methods. Keywords: qualitative research methods, grounded theory methodology (GTM), field research, semistructured interviews, foreign languages Ina Peters, MA is a social scientist and research fellow at the GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies and a member of the “Participation and Representation in the Context of Inequality” re‐ search team, which is part of GIGA Research Programme 1: Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems. Contact: <ina.peters@giga‐hamburg.de> Website: <www.giga‐hamburg.de/en/team/peters> 247/2014 GIGA Working Papers Too Abstract to Be Feasible? Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research Ina Peters Article Outline 1 Introduction 2 GTM as a Qualitative Research Method 3 Data Analysis 4 Quality Assessment 5 Conducting Interview Research in a Foreign Language 6. Conclusion – The Applicability of Grounded Theory Methodology 1 Introduction Qualitative research undertakes in‐depth analysis of complex social structures.1 By using in‐ terpretive approaches and reconstructing meaning from the subjective statements of indi‐ viduals, the qualitative researcher seeks to develop a comprehensive understanding of mean‐ 1 Qualitative research should be understood as an umbrella term for a vast number of methods and approaches applied in the social sciences (Flick 2005: par. 1). The special issue of Forum: Qualitative Social Research on “Qualitative Methods in Europe” discusses the methodological variety in detail, focusing on the European perspectives on qualitative research and their differences vis‐à‐vis the Anglo‐Saxon literature (Forum: Qualita‐ tive Social Research, Vol. 6, No. 3, September 2005). GIGA Working Papers WP 247/2014 Ina Peters: Too Abstract to Be Feasible? Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social Movement Research 5 ing (Sinnverstehen). Metaphorically speaking, qualitative researchers embark on “a journey of knowledge acquisition” (Corbin/Strauss 2008: 16) that takes them into “unknown territory” (Friese 2012: 4). The aim of qualitative research is to analyze an empirical phenomenon in its own right by acknowledging its specific structure and dynamics and developing an under‐ standing of the same. Consequently, qualitative research is particularly suited to exploratory research that aims to build theory and/or develop hypotheses. However, researchers seeking to apply grounded theory methodology (GTM) to their specific research projects often feel at loss as to how the methodology should be operational‐ ized. GTM’s complexity and vagueness tend to discourage first‐time users from applying the approach in their research projects and, especially, in PhD theses. This paper serves the dual purpose of providing a precise and comprehensive review of the constitutive characteristics, assumptions, and requirements of GTM sensu Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin and, at the same time, discussing the application of the methodology in qualitative interview research in political science. Throughout the paper, the methodological discussion of data collection and handling, data processing and analysis, quality assessment, and the generalization of empiri‐ cal findings is illustrated by a detailed description of a research project on social movements in Brazil. Particular attention is paid to the implications of conducting interview research in a foreign language, an issue that is frequently neglected in political science. Most of the ideas regarding the application of GTM discussed in this paper were devel‐ oped over the course of a qualitative research project on the social movement opposing the Belo Monte Hydropower Dam, which is currently under construction on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon state of Pará.2 The objective of this study was to investigate how collec‐ tive identities and collective action frames have contributed to longevity and cohesion in the social movement, which originally emerged in 1989 and continues to fight against Belo Monte today. The lack of empirical studies on social movement dynamics in the Belo Monte case, my attempt to apply “Western concepts” from social movement theory to a case study from the “global South,”3 and my focus on individual‐level experiences called for a qualitative re‐ search design that would allow the reconstruction of meaning pertaining to identity and framing processes in the movement. The experiences from the Belo Monte research project are used to illustrate the methodological discussion in this paper in order to demonstrate and promote possibilities
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