For our final project this semester, you will assume the role of researcher of our ENGL 201W class, using grounded theory coding to make sense of the written data available to you on our WordPress site. We will practice coding today so you are prepared to code data before next class.

Grounded theory coding is a form of data analysis that involves labeling & defining written text (also known as qualitative data). Charmaz describes grounded theory coding as “the process of defining what data are about. Coding means categorizing segments of data with a short name that simultaneously summarizes and accounts for each piece of data. Your codes show how you select, separate, and sort data and begin an analytic accounting of them” (111). In this way, grounded theory is both objective and subjective, in that the researcher attempts to describe what they see in the data in an unbiased way but also understands that any analysis involves some level of personal interpretation. We will practice grounded theory coding a bit more today and you will select your own text samples to code for homework.

Coding Practice

Take a look at the table on page 123 in Charmaz’s text. Read the narrative data (on the right) and the researcher’s corresponding gerund codes (on the left). What do you notice? What are gerund codes?

I will ask for a volunteer to read the first full paragraph on page 124. Based on this paragraph and what you’ve learned so far, describe the goal of coding data.

Define in vivo codes.

We’ll take some time to code Jaqy’s narrative data from her most recent blog post that I’ll provide in class.

HOMEWORK

Code data on your own!!! Select 3 blog posts from different classmates in our ENGL 201W community. Place that narrative data into a table as I’ve modeled in class and as Charmaz models in her text. Code this data and come to next class with your completed coding tables available for me to see.

Work Cited

Charmaz, Kathy. Constructing Grounded Theory. 2nd ed., Sage, 2014.