A Historical and Comparative Note on the Relationship Between Analytic Induction and Grounded Theorising

Authors

  • Martyn Hammersley The Open University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-11.2.1400

Keywords:

analytic induction, grounded theorising, Lindesmith, Strauss, Blumer

Abstract

Analytic induction (AI) and grounded theorising (GT) have long been influential models for conceptualising and guiding particular kinds of qualitative research. However, the relationship between them, in terms of both historical development and conceptual structure, is not always clearly understood. As I show in this article, there are obstacles to understanding these matters. Alfred LINDESMITH, one of the major architects and champions of AI, and Anselm STRAUSS, co-inventor of GT, were students of Herbert BLUMER at the same time, and collaborated on various projects. However, only STRAUSS, with Barney GLASER, provided a detailed comparison between the two approaches. Moreover, even this leaves us with some uncertainties about the precise nature of the similarities and differences, and the reasons for these. The relationship of AI and GT to BLUMER's methodological thinking is even more obscure. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs100243

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Martyn Hammersley, The Open University

Martyn HAMMERSLEY is Professor of educational and social research at The Open University. He has carried out research in the sociology of education and the sociology of the media. However, much of his work has been concerned with the methodological issues surrounding social enquiry. He has written several books, including The Dilemma of Qualitative Method (Routledge 1989); Reading Ethnographic Research (Longman 1991); What's Wrong with Ethnography? (Routledge 1992); The Politics of Social Research (Sage 1995); (with Peter FOSTER and Roger GOMM) Constructing Educational Inequality (Falmer); Taking Sides in Social Research (Routledge, 1999); Educational Research, Policymaking and Practice (Paul Chapman, 2002), and Questioning Qualitative Inquiry (Sage 2008).

Downloads

Published

2010-02-11

How to Cite

Hammersley, M. (2010). A Historical and Comparative Note on the Relationship Between Analytic Induction and Grounded Theorising. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-11.2.1400