FORUM : QUALITATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH SOZIALFORSCHUNG Naturalist Inquiry and Grounded Theory 1 . What is Truth ?

Abstract

The world of Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) methodology became quite taken with LINCOLN and GUBA's book "Naturalistic Inquiry" (1985). I have no issue with it with respect to its application to QDA; it helped clarify and advance so many QDA issues. However, its application to Grounded Theory (GT) has been a major block on GT, as originated, by its cooptation and corruption hence remodeling of GT by default. LINCOLN and GUBA have simply assumed GT is just another QDA method, which it is not. In "The Grounded Theory Perspective II" (GLASER 2002a, Chapter 9 on credibility), I have discussed "Naturalist Inquiry" (NI) thought regarding how LINCOLN and GUBA's notion of "trustworthy" data (or worrisome data orientation) and how their view of constant comparison can and has remodeled and eroded GT. In this paper I will consider other aspects of NI that remodel GT.