Rigour in grounded theory research: A doctoral experience
Rigour in grounded theory (GT) raises a lot of questions among students and researchers interested in this approach. Quality criteria in qualitative research in general are often used in GT but are not very specific. As a result, very few GT studies use specific GT criteria. In order to help students and researchers better reflect on scientific rigour, this article presents the experience of a novice researchers who conducted a GT study as part of their doctoral research project. The student’s reflexive process surrounding rigour in GT is presented along eight dimensions and illustrated with examples: 1) philosophical stance; 2) iterative process and theoretical sampling; 3) theoretical sensitivity; 4) process leading the emergence of a theory; 5) theoretical saturation; 6) quality criteria specific to the authors of the GT selected; 7) level of theory achieved; 8) distinction between a GT study and a descriptive study using GT strategies.