Grounded theory uses the collection and analysis of data to study a certain process. It is a qualitative method that provides the means to discover new theories using real-world information. While in hypothesis-deductive approaches, the researcher would come up with a hypothesis and work to prove or disprove it, grounded theory uses a different approach. It is an inductive method where the theory is ascertained from the collection of data. Accumulative data collection, data analysis, and development of theories occur until the process has reached a saturation point where no additional data will add anything significant to the outcome. It is a repetitive process but effective in that it leaves no stone unturned in your quest for answers.

How Is Grounded Theory Applied In Criminology?

Grounded theory provides the framework to solidify research in criminology and criminal justice. This is while maintaining the analytical techniques used in the guidelines for criminology research.

One example of how grounded theory has helped research in criminal justice is the study done by a team of researchers from Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, as well as the University of Regina. The study used this method to examine the occupational stressors faced by public safety personnel such as police officers.

According to the research, while some occupational stressors are unavoidable, there are things that can be done to lower the amount of stress. The data is useful in crafting policy and practices surrounding these contexts. Individuals, such as educators, probation officers, psychologists, government agencies, politicians, and other professionals, can get a better understanding of what kind of stress most affects this population and how that stress might impact their ability to do their job safely.

Grounded theory is part of the curriculum at accredited schools that offer criminology courses online, such as Wilfrid Laurier University. Those who have experience in the criminal justice system and want to further their careers or improve their education in this area can take courses online while they are still working. If you are just starting out and you want to start a career in criminology, online courses can provide flexible hours and the ability to learn at your own pace.

When Should You Use Grounded Theory In Criminology?

It has been suggested that grounded theory is helpful when there is no other theory available for why a certain phenomenon exists. Grounded theory can also be used if there is a theory, but it is incomplete or inconclusive because it did not focus on the specific group you plan on researching. Remember that grounded theory is iterative, so you may find that you are going over the same data frequently, and then re-assessing as you go.

Steps for Grounded Theory

1. Determine initial research questions.
2. Theoretical sampling: Recruit and collect data.
3. Open coding: Break transcripts into excerpts.
4. Open coding: Group excerpts into codes.
5. Axial coding: Group codes into categories.
6. Analyze more excerpts and compare with codes.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 until you have saturated your data.
8. Selective coding: Define the idea.
9. Write your grounded theory.

The grounded theory method of research does not work in a linear fashion. Instead of collecting data, analyzing it, and finishing the process, it involves cycling through the steps over and over until there is no more useful data that can be found. The grounded theory method mixes the collection of data with the analysis of that data. You could recruit participants, collect their data, analyze it, and then change the parameters of what constitutes significant data before recruiting again. The new data will then be incorporated into the analysis, and the parameters may then be changed again. The research method is cyclical and iterative deliberately so that the data is significant to the specific question.

Determine Initial Research Questions 

Using the example of the adolescent study done by the NCJRS, the initial research questions involved the three crime contexts in relation to the other factors explored in the interviews. The phenomenon the researchers are trying to explain is the effects of factors on adolescents when they commit certain crimes.  The initial questions the researchers ask helps guide the recruiting of participants and collecting of data; but, during the iterative process of grounded theory, the questions and methods may evolve. Data can also be in the form of reports, records, statements, and other types of evidence.

Theoretical Sampling: Recruit and Collect Data 

The recruitment process with participants is iterative, so there may be predetermined factors when choosing the first round, but that can change with the progression of the process. Theoretical sampling involves recruiting a small group of participants who loosely fit the initial research question criteria.

The data that is collected from interviews is then transcribed and ready to be analyzed. In the case of the research study on adolescents, their interviews would be transcribed and prepared for analysis. The analysis, detailed below, will narrow down the initial questions to those that are specific to the direction your theory is starting to take.

Open Coding: Break Transcripts Into Excerpts

Open coding is breaking transcripts into excerpts after collecting the data. After the interviews have been done and transcribed, the open coding can begin. Open coding is when you take your transcripts and break them up into individual excerpts. These excerpts are then compared in the different ways listed below over and over until there is no more useful data to glean from them. When there are more transcripts, then the comparison begins again. This iterative method is called the Constant Comparative Method and is used in grounded theory. It ensures that every stone is turned, and all angles of comparison have been explored.

The comparisons can be broken down in the following ways:

• Compare similar excerpts that occur between different people
• Compare different peoples’ experiences within similar excerpts
• Compare different excerpts from the same person
• Compare excerpts, as they differ from one day to the next

Writing memos is the preferred method of recording data in grounded theory. Researchers should reflect on the contradictions they find in the excerpts as well as any thoughts they have during the analysis. These analytical memos should reflect the researchers’ train of thought, notes to self, and reflections. The memos that are written during this phase of the research may eventually turn into the foundation of your grounded theory. Some of the interviews done with the adolescents may reflect the same emotions or behaviors, which should be mentioned in the memos. Others may reflect complete opposite reactions to the same stimuli.

Open Coding: Group Excerpts Into Codes 

Looking for sets in the data you compile means looking for similar central ideas or concepts in the excerpts that you can group together. These excerpts can be named with a code that describes the content. For the interviews with delinquents, you could have a code called “single-parent family” to differentiate one adolescent offender from another. As you continue to analyze, you will find more codes to use to tag or label similar excerpts, and these will then help you separate them into categories.

Axial Coding: Group Codes into Categories

There are coding paradigms that you can read about that are very helpful when grouping codes into categories. Axial coding is when you group similar codes into a category. This is a phase of grounded theory where you find the “axes” that connect the codes together. Using software for qualitative data analysis is particularly helpful in categorizing into “nested codes”, which can be stacked in a hierarchy. You may find that “single-parent family” and “lack of structure in homelife” could be related to each other, so you could put these codes in a category labeled “family dynamics”.

Constant Comparative Method

Once you go around the process once, you are not finished. Grounded theory is cyclical, and the steps will be repeated until there is no more data to gather that is of any use. Once you have gone through the process of open coding and axial coding, you are still going to continue to analyze the transcript excerpts. When you are constantly comparing the transcripts to your categories, then creating new categories, you might find that you have examined the same transcripts multiple times. If your theory is always evolving and your categories are becoming more defined, you are getting close to your grounded theory.

In the process of making comparisons with your excerpts, one of three things will happen:

• Contradiction: If one of your new excerpts contradicts a code, then you may need to adjust your coding accordingly. You should also go back to the second step and collect more data through samplings.
• Expansion: When your new excerpt expands on your codes and adds more description and explanation for your code, then that is a good indication that you are moving in the right direction and should collect more data. Collect more data until the new excerpts support the codes instead of changing or expanding upon them.
• Support: If a new excerpt supports the code and provides no expansion or contradiction, then you have reached something called “theoretical saturation”, and you are ready to enter the later stages of your research. The support phase precludes you from having to continue going over the same excerpts again and again as they support the theory.

Continue Collecting Data And Analyzing Until You Reach Theoretical Saturation 

How do you know when you have analyzed enough data? What signals that you have recruited enough, and you no longer require participants or additional data? Grounded theory focuses on constantly assessing and coding the data until you have reached the saturation point. Once the saturation point is reached, there is no reason to continue going over the excerpts because they will not provide any more relevant data or clarity. The codes and categories have all been addressed by the excerpts, and there is no need to collect any more information.

Selective Coding: Define the Idea

When theoretical saturation is reached, then it is time to pull the findings together and use selective coding. This allows you to connect all the codes and categories together under one umbrella category.

This core category is the central thesis of your research, and the main theme behind your grounded theory. You may use a category that already exists or create a new one that fits all your findings up to the saturation point.

Write Your Grounded Theory 

When you have determined your core category and are ready to admit that you have reached theoretical saturation, then it is time to construct the grounded theory. Gathering all your coded data and memos, describe your new theory, using them as a guide. Your theory doesn’t need to be any more than a few sentences and should be defined with limits and boundaries. Create a summary of your theory and write a description of it while using your coding to validate your points. Finally, write a statement about the area you studied, and put your theory in a form that is useful to other researchers.

Grounded theory is a valuable research method in criminology because the constant assessing and reassessing of data ensures that nothing valuable is overlooked. This type of research method will also expose any data that contradicts the original theory so the researcher can re-assess the data collected as well as the method of collection. The coding system inherent in the grounded theory process is simple to implement, and, with the constant iterations of coding, the researcher will become an expert in the subject matter and learn to recognize when a process needs to be adjusted. If you are interested in a career in criminology, you will come across this type of research method and use it to formulate some of your own theories academically and in any future positions.