Media Review: Advancing Grounded Theory with Mixed Methods

Abstract

Fifty years ago, Glaser and Strauss (1967/1999, p. 18) wrote that both qualitative and quantitative data could be used in the grounded theory methodology (GTM)—a point punctuated by Glaser (1978) later when explaining, “There are no limits to the techniques of data collection, the way they are used, or the types of data required” (p. 158). The problem is that Glaser, Strauss, and other early grounded theorists focused primarily on qualitative data analysis in their instructional texts. This early branding of GTM as qualitative in nature has led to a growing interest in what is often called Mixed Methods Grounded Theory Methodology (MM-GTM). However, while increasing numbers of researchers claim to have used MM-GTM over the past 10 years, Guetterman et al.’s (2019) meta-analysis of 61 MM-GTM studies find that few “draw upon all or even most of the major features of grounded theory” (p. 188). It is out of the fog of this current confusion that Elizabeth Creamer emerges with her book entitled Advancing Grounded Theory with Mixed Methods.