Grounded Theory Approaches Used in Educational Research Journals

Grounded theory has become one of the most commonly used qualitative research approaches. Since its first introduction, grounded theory methodology has taken on different iterations and evolved a number of variants. This review examined highly-ranked educational journals to determine grounded theory methodologies used most frequently by educational researchers. A total of 210 studies from 15 education journals were analyzed across 18 years of publication. A coding scheme was developed and used to categorize studies by type of methodological approach and inclusion of common grounded theory elements. Increasing variability in the types of grounded theory approaches was found in educational research over the last two decades. While educational researchers appear to prefer Straussian approaches to the design and analysis of grounded theory studies, Charmaz’s constructivist approach has increased in popularity over the last decade. In addition, most educational researchers used grounded theory as a data analysis technique rather than as a complete methodological approach. Only a small proportion of the 210 studies (29.5%) delineated a “grounded theory.” Finally, despite their publication in highly-ranked educational journals, methodological inconsistencies and descriptive cloudiness were evidenced across many of these grounded theory studies.