Functional analysis and grounded theory as partners in crime: Working on problem concepts and property concepts in sociological research

Grounded theory and Niklas Luhmann's functional analysis share more affinities than previously acknowledged. Both emerged as reactions to functionalism in the 1960s, and each, viewed abstractly, provides guidance on how to work on sociological concepts. Yet they diverge in the kinds of concepts they address: grounded theory – especially in the Strauss and Corbin tradition – provides techniques for working on property concepts, whereas Luhmann's functional analysis provides techniques for working on problem concepts. Because qualitative research may profit most from combining these two concept types, the article argues for integrating the approaches. Grounded theory offers procedures for working on property concepts from empirical material. Functional analysis, by contrast, offers procedures for working on problem concepts from theoretical material, with property concepts identifying social phenomena through their attributes and problem concepts focusing on the theoretical problems for which specific social phenomena are constructed as solutions.