I think I need to convince myself (I am in the midst of reading the literature on Grounded Theory, and I am finding that it is one tough nut to crack!) why a Grounded Theory approach is needed for this project!
Stern (1994) the strongest case for the use of grounded theory is in investigations of relatively uncharted water, or to gain a fresh perspective in a familiar situation.
1. This blogshop project is based on the question of "Why are people turning blog software that is intended for personal publishing into online retail spaces?", which is a good candidate for a qualitative method approach as it will allow the social phenomenon of blogshops to be studied in depth.
2. As there is very little previous study on blogshops, it is an opportunity to ground the project in data, to allow theory to emerge from the data rather than to engage in a verification exercise that uses a proxy-theory, that is the testing of existing hypothesis is not the main concern in this project.
3. Also, the vast majority of research in the field of e-commerce have employed quantitative methods- for example, the use of cluster and factor analyses to categorize online retail types. It is hoped that applying a different research approach here would make a worthwhile contribution.
4. Grounded Theory provides for many forms of data collection, including interviewing and observations which are methods that will be utilized in this project.
5. Grounded theory seeks to construct theory about issues of importance in peoples’ lives (Glaser, 1978; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). This resonates very well with this blogshop study which will not just look at blogshops as business entities but their owners, buyers and partners as well.
References:
Stern, Phyllis Noerager. 1994. Eroding Grounded Theory. In Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods (Morse, Janice M. editor), Sage Pub., - ed., pp. 210-223.
No comments:
Post a Comment