6: Grounded Theory Research in Faculty Development: The Basics, a Live Example, and Practical Tips for Faculty Developers

Abstract

While autobiographical narratives andcase study reflections remain vital tofaculty development research, wemustalso make substantive efforts tobuild theory in our field. Researchers making claims about collective meanings ofobserved behaviors andthe mechanisms thatunderlie them (i.e; theoretical claims about social behavior) mustbedisciplined in howthey identify andorganize the evidence they use to support those claims. Such systematic, inductive theory-building inthe social sciences iscalled ''grounded theory" research. This chapter presents thebasics ofgrounded theory research, describes agrounded theory research program currently being executed byfaculty developers, andoffers practical tips especiallyfor faculty developers.