ABSTRACT
The purpose of the constant comparative method of joint coding and analysis is to generate theory more systematically than allowed by the second approach, by using explicit coding and analytic procedures. The constant comparative method, unlike analytic induction, is more likely to be applied in the same study to any kind of qualitative information, including observations, interviews, documents, articles, books, and so forth. The general idea of the constant comparative method can also be used for generating theory in quantitative research. The chapter describes in four stages the constant comparative method: comparing incidents applicable to each category, integrating categories and their properties, delimiting the theory, and writing the theory. The constant comparative method can yield either discussional or propositional theory. The analyst may wish to cover many properties of a category in his discussion or to write formal propositions about a category.
