Development of Grounded Theory in Social Sciences: A Qualitative Approach

Grounded theory (GT) is a general research method that provides the efficient generation of theory from data, which are collected by a strong, sound, and fair research method. It is an inductive methodology that systematically collects and analyzes data for developing theory on human behavior in social welfare perspectives. It is considered as one of the most popular qualitative research methodologies in the world. It is originally developed by two American sociologists Barney Galland Glaser and Anselm Leonard Strauss in 1967 through the publication of their revolutionary book The Discovery of Grounded Theory. It emphasizes the importance of developing an understanding of human behavior through a process of discovery. Grounded theory has originated in sociology, and at present it has become a key methodological setting in a wide range of other disciplines, such as in nursing, physiotherapy, healthcare, education, anthropology, psychology, management, information systems, software engineering, etc. It is useful both for expert and novice researchers to generate new explanatory theories. This article tries to discuss grounded theory methodology through the discussion of its origin and development, basic principles, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, and its usefulness in social science researches for qualitative analysis.