ABSTRACT
Grounded theory is ‘a methodology, a way of thinking about and studying reality’ (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 4). Moreover, it ‘is both a strategy for research and a way of analysing data’ (Punch, 1998, p. 163). The passing of time, however, requires some updating of those definitions; more contemporary reinterpretations follow. First, the Strauss and Corbin definition: grounded theory is a ‘methodolog[ical tradition], a way of thinking about and studying realit[ies]’. Second, the Punch definition: ‘grounded theory is a strategy for research and a way of [interpreting empirical materials or] analysing data’.
