GROUNDED THEORY AND THE INTEGRATION OF QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

This comment provides a discovery-oriented reading of grounded theory which supplements the verification-oriented approach to level specification. I address how grounded theory can be used to discover new constructs, to surface properties of constructs, to validate constructs, and to enhance understanding of levels of analysis of constructs. Two approaches to the integration of qualitative and quantitative data in grounded theory are discussed: the linking approach and computer-aided interpretive textual analysis. The comment shows how multi-level constructs can be developed from real life interaction using discovery oriented grounded theory.