Grounded Theory Analysis with MAXQDA: Step-By-Step Guide

MAXQDA supports various methodological frameworks, including grounded theory, by helping you collect, organize, analyze, visualize, and publish your data. This article will walk you through tools that will help you get started with your MAXQDA-supported grounded theory analysis quickly and easily.

What is Grounded Theory?

The central principle of grounded theory is that the researcher’s theories about a topic are constructed based on their data. In other words, by collecting and analyzing qualitative data, the researcher can construct a new theory that is “grounded” in that data. Grounded theory, therefore, begins with the collection of data based on a question rather than the aim to test a hypothesis.

The principles of grounded theory were articulated in 1967 by sociologists Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in their book The Discovery of Grounded Theory. The idea of starting with the data in order to create the theory contradicted previous methodological traditions, which mostly suggested that researchers should verify already-formulated theory during data collection.

“Grounded theory is the discovery of theory from data systematically obtained from social research” (Glaser & Strauss, 2009).

Grounded theory remains one of the most popular qualitative methodological frameworks used by researchers today. This may be because grounded theory methodology and its application “foster seeing your data in fresh ways and exploring your ideas about the data through early analytic writing” (Charmaz, 2006). There are also many iterations of the grounded theory process, especially when it comes to coding. This article will, therefore, serve as a practical guide to analyzing data with MAXQDA rather than a methodological assessment of grounded theory itself.

Grounded Theory Analysis with MAXQDA

In grounded theory-based analysis, the researcher generally analyzes the data as follows: finding repeating themes by thoroughly reviewing the data; coding the emergent themes with keywords and phrases; grouping the codes into concepts hierarchically; and then categorizing the concepts through relationship identification. Finally, the categories created through this process, as well as the links found between them, are used as the basis for the development of a new theory.

The main steps in using MAXQDA to analyze qualitative data based on the grounded theory methodology are what we call the ‘4 Cs’:

1. coding the data,
2. customizing the Code System,
3. category building with Creative Coding, and
4. constructing theories with MAXMaps.

These steps facilitate an analysis process that gives the researcher the freedom to construct new theories instead of simply collecting data to test how well an established theory applies to the social phenomena they are studying. However, the freedom that grounded theory gives to the researcher may also be one of its biggest challenges when it is put into practice.

With no rigid structure or prescribed rules, researchers must work entirely on their own, which often leads to uncertainty about how to get the analysis process started. Grounded theory research, especially when conducted with the constant comparative method of data analysis, is “a labor-intensive task that requires the researcher to invest time in the processes of analysis and data collection” (Kolb, 2012). 

As shown above, the process is much clearer when you use software. With MAXQDA, you can search for data segments as you code the data and have analytical ideas, allowing you to develop the theory in real-time! If you don’t already have a MAXQDA license, download the 14-day free trial to get started:

Collaborative Research with MAXQDA

Conducting Participatory and Collaborative Research

Since 2016, Reaja has transitioned from a campaign into a political organization that continues to provide direct service and action to community members, and this past August marks the two-year anniversary of the first Pan-African school in the country – The Winnie Mandela School of Political Consciousness and Community Action. Since its inauguration in 2016, the school has more than doubled in size, with 27 youth between the ages of 7 and 14 now attending the Winnie Mandela School, which is located in the working class, majority Black neighborhood of Engenho Velho de Brotas.

Over the past 13 years, Reaja has mobilized Black families and communities against state violence, which translates to the genocide of Black people across Brazil. This includes police that invade and occupy poor, Black homes and communities; killing Black people immediately and slowly on a daily basis; medical centers that are underfunded, understaffed, and located in substandard buildings; and a neglected public education system that erases Black resistance and minimizes Black history.

Alysia talking with students at the Winnie Mandela School about education and community organizing in Black communities in the United States

The pedagogical approach developed by teachers involves the everyday experiences of the youth: teachers speak the language of their students, meeting them where they are at because, at some point, these instructors have also been where their students are today. The teachers create open lines of communication between students and their families within the classroom setting that is accessible and relevant to the children’s daily struggles, and bringing these experiences in the street and at home into the classroom. The teachers (who are also organizers) emphasize collective methods and practices through this pedagogical approach. For example, during snack time, they eat in a circle on the floor, have the students take care of the space, help prepare the meals, wash their dishes, clean up at the end of the day. All these actions show them how they can love and care for each other, and the importance of solidarity and of unity.

Part of the work being done by React through the Winnie Mandela School is empowering members of the community as well as students to unlearn a number of harmful ideas, stereotypes, and practices that are deadly to Black communities, such as homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny. In an informal interview I had with one of the coordinators at the school and organizer with React, she mentioned how her identity as a poor Black trans-woman informs her organizing and approach to community and educational work at the school and in the organization.

Gathering and Analyzing Multimedia Fieldwork Archives with MAXQDA

Using MAXQDA’s “Document Browser”, I have been able to write and store my daily notes, write reflections, literature, and theoretical memos, and code some of the themes that have emerged. One of the ways this documenting feature has helped the organization beyond my research is by writing and translating documents to update the international community about the radical work being done by the organization and the school.

Writing and Coding Notes