Theoretical Coding Families of Grounded Theory
Families |
Examples (Glaser 1978, pp. 73 – 82) |
| The Six C’s | Causes (sources, reasons, explanations, accountings, or anticipated consequences), Context or Ambiance, Contingencies, Consequences (outcomes, efforts, functions, predictions, anticipated/unancipated), Covariances, Conditions or Qualifiers. |
| Process | Stage, Staging, Phases, Phasing, Progressions, Passages, Gradation, Transitions, Steps, Ranks, Careers, Ordering, Trajectories, Chains, Sequencing, Temporaling, Shaping, Cycling. |
| Degree | Limit, Range, Intensity, Extent, Amount, Polarity, Extreme, Boundary, Rank, Grades, Continuum, Probability, Possibility, Level, Cutting Points, Critical Juncture, Statistical Average (mean, medium, mode), Deviation, Exemplar, Modicum, Full, Partial, Almost, Half. |
| Dimension | Dimensions, Elements, Divisions, Piece of, Properties of, Facet, Slice, Sector, Portion, Segment, Part, Aspect, Section. |
| Type | Type, Form, Kinds, Styles, Classes, Genre. |
| Strategy | Strategies, Tactics, Mechanisms, Managed, Way, Manipulation, Maneuvering, Dealing with, Handling, Techniques, Ploys, Means, Goal, Arrangements, Dominating, Positioning. |
| Interactive | Mutual Effects, Reciprocity, Mutual Trajectory, Mutual Dependency, Interdependence, Interaction of effects, Covariance (Glaser 1978), Face to Face Interactions, Self-indications, Delayed-interaction (Glaser 1978, Symbolic Interaction). |
| Identity-Self | Self-image, Self-concept, Self-worth, Self-evaluation, Identity, Social worth, Self-realization, Transformation of self, Conversions of identity. |
| Cutting Point | Boundary, Critical juncture, Cutting point, Turning point, Benchmark, Division, Cleavage, Scales, In-out, Intra-extra, Tolerance levels, Dichotomy, Trichotomy, Polychotomy, Deviance, Point of no return. |
| Means-goal | End, Purpose, Goal, Anticipated consequences, Products. |
| Cultural | Social norms, Social values, Social belief, Social sentiments. |
| Concensus | Clusters, Agreements, Contracts, Definitions of Situation, Uniformities, Opinions, Conflict, Discensus, Differential perception, Cooperation, Homogeneity-heterogeneity, Conformity, Non-conformity, Mutual expectation. |
| Mainline | Social control, Recruitment, Socialization, Stratification, Status passage, Social organization, Social order, Social interaction, Social mobility. |
| Theoretical | Parsimony, Scope, Integration, Density, Conceptual level, Relationship to data, Relationship to other theory, Clarity, Fit, Relevance, Modifiability, Utility, Condensibility, Inductive-Deductive balance and interfeeding, degree of, Multivariate structure, Use of theoretical codes, Interpretive, Explanatory, Predictive Power. |
| Ordering or Elaboration | Structural Ordering (unit size of: organization, division…), Temporal Ordering (A – B – C), Conceptual Ordering (Achievement Orientation, Institutional Goal, Organizational value, Personal Motivation). |
| Unit | Collective, Group, Nation, Organization, Aggregate, Situation, Context, Arena, Social word, Behavior pattern, Territorial Units, Society, Family. |
| Reading | Concepts, Problems, Hypotheses. |
| Models | Linear model, Property Space. |
Families |
Examples (Glaser 1998, pp. 170 – 175) |
| Basics | Basic Social Structural Process, Basic Social Structural Condition (shifts, semesters, quarters, fiscal), Basic Social Psychological Process (teaching, child rearing, learning curves, becoming, education, grieving, maturing), Basic Psychological Process (identity development, character formation, loving, unconscious agendas) |
| Paired Opposite | Ingroup-Outgroup (in-out), Manifest-Latent, Explicit-Tant, Figure-Ground, Normative-Comparative, Reduction-Substruction, Induction-Deduction, Generative-Verificational, Unit-Concept. |
| Representation | Descriptive, Proscriptive, Prescriptive, Evaluative, Sentimental. Properlining, Interpreting, Vauging, Base-lining, Conceptualizing. |
| Scale | Likert Scales, Guttman Scales, Cummulative Scales, Random Walk Scale, Funneling Down, Scaling Down. |
| Structural Functional | Authority Structure, Reference Groups, Role Sets, Status Sets. |
| Boundary | Confidence Limit, Tolerance Zone, Front Line. |
| Unit Identity | Professions. |
| Average | Mean, Median, Mode, Confidence Limit, Tolerance Zones. |
References
Glaser, B. G. 1978. Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in the Methodology of Grounded Theory, Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. G. 1998. Doing Grounded Theory: Issues and Discussions, Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.