Grounded Theory Method: Philosophical Perspectives, Paradigm of Inquiry, and Postmodernism

The understanding of grounded theory method is partly dependent on an awareness of the method's ontological, epistemological, and methodological perspectives; the traditional symbolic interactionist theoretical underpinnings; and the identification of the relevant paradigm of inquiry within which the method resides. An analysis of these factors suggests that grounded theory method has traditionally been sited in a postpositivist inquiry paradigm but is evolving and moving toward the constructivist inquiry paradigm. The suggestion is made that the postmodern status of the method is also evolving.