___________________________

Too Abstract to Be Feasible?

Applying the Grounded Theory Method in Social
Movement Research

Ina Peters
No 247

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May 2014

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TooAbstracttoBeFeasible?
ApplyingtheGroundedTheoryMethodinSocial
MovementResearch
Abstract
Groundedtheorymethodology(GTM)hasbecomeapopularapproachinthesocialsciences.
Basedonaniterativeresearchdesignandreconstructivehermeneuticprocedures,itenables
scholarstorevealandcomprehendpatternsofunderstandingthatarereproducedthrough
linguisticandnonlinguisticsymbols.YetthevastliteratureonGTMoftenleavesscholars
wonderinghowthemethodcanbeoperationalized.Thispaperservesthedualpurposeof
providing a precise and comprehensive review of GTM sensuAnselm Strauss and Juliet
Corbin while at the same time discussing its application in a social movement research
project. Done thoroughly, GTM demands high levels of reflexivity, transparency, and
opennessfromthequalitativescholar.Iproposethattheserequirementsconcernnotonly
thesamplinganddatacollectionbutalsotheresearcherspreviousassumptions,transcrip
tion,translation,anddataquality.Asthelatteraspectsarefrequentlyneglected,thepaper
callsformoreaccuracyintheapplicationanddocumentationofresearchmethods.
Keywords:qualitativeresearchmethods,groundedtheorymethodology(GTM),field
research,semistructuredinterviews,foreignlanguages

InaPeters,MA
is a social scientist and research fellow at the GIGA Institute of LatinAmerican Studies
and a member of the Participation and Representation in the Context of Inequality re
searchteam,whichispartofGIGAResearchProgramme1:LegitimacyandEfficiencyof
PoliticalSystems.
Contact:

<ina.peters@gigahamburg.de>

Website:

<www.gigahamburg.de/en/team/peters>

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TooAbstracttoBeFeasible?
ApplyingtheGroundedTheoryMethodinSocialMovementResearch
InaPeters

ArticleOutline
1 Introduction
2 GTMasaQualitativeResearchMethod
3 DataAnalysis
4 QualityAssessment
5 ConductingInterviewResearchinaForeignLanguage
6. ConclusionTheApplicabilityofGroundedTheoryMethodology

1 Introduction
Qualitativeresearchundertakesindepthanalysisofcomplexsocialstructures.1Byusingin
terpretive approaches and reconstructing meaning from the subjective statements of indi
viduals,thequalitativeresearcherseekstodevelopacomprehensiveunderstandingofmean

1 Qualitativeresearchshouldbeunderstoodasanumbrellatermforavastnumberofmethodsandapproaches
applied in the social sciences (Flick 2005: par. 1). The special issue of Forum: Qualitative Social Research on
Qualitative Methods in Europe discusses the methodological variety in detail, focusing on the European
perspectivesonqualitativeresearchandtheirdifferencesvisvistheAngloSaxonliterature(Forum:Qualita
tiveSocialResearch,Vol.6,No.3,September2005).
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InaPeters:TooAbstracttoBeFeasible?ApplyingtheGroundedTheoryMethodinSocialMovementResearch

ing(Sinnverstehen).Metaphoricallyspeaking,qualitativeresearchersembarkonajourneyof
knowledgeacquisition(Corbin/Strauss2008:16)thattakesthemintounknownterritory
(Friese2012:4).Theaimofqualitativeresearchistoanalyzeanempiricalphenomenoninits
ownrightbyacknowledgingitsspecificstructureanddynamicsanddevelopinganunder
standingofthesame.Consequently,qualitativeresearchisparticularlysuitedtoexploratory
researchthataimstobuildtheoryand/ordevelophypotheses.
However, researchers seeking to apply grounded theory methodology (GTM) to their
specificresearchprojectsoftenfeelatlossastohowthemethodologyshouldbeoperational
ized.GTMscomplexityandvaguenesstendtodiscouragefirsttimeusersfromapplyingthe
approachintheirresearchprojectsand,especially,inPhDtheses.Thispaperservesthedual
purposeofprovidingapreciseandcomprehensivereviewoftheconstitutivecharacteristics,
assumptions,andrequirementsofGTMsensuAnselmStraussandJulietCorbinand,atthe
sametime,discussingtheapplicationofthemethodologyinqualitativeinterviewresearchin
politicalscience.Throughoutthepaper,themethodologicaldiscussionofdatacollectionand
handling,dataprocessingandanalysis,qualityassessment,andthegeneralizationofempiri
calfindingsisillustratedbyadetaileddescriptionofaresearchprojectonsocialmovements
inBrazil.Particularattentionispaidtotheimplicationsofconductinginterviewresearchina
foreignlanguage,anissuethatisfrequentlyneglectedinpoliticalscience.
MostoftheideasregardingtheapplicationofGTMdiscussedinthispaperweredevel
opedoverthecourseofaqualitativeresearchprojectonthesocialmovementopposingthe
BeloMonteHydropowerDam,whichiscurrentlyunderconstructionontheXinguRiverin
theBrazilianAmazonstateofPar.2Theobjectiveofthisstudywastoinvestigatehowcollec
tiveidentitiesandcollectiveactionframeshavecontributedtolongevityandcohesioninthe
socialmovement,whichoriginallyemergedin1989andcontinuestofightagainstBeloMonte
today. The lack of empirical studies on social movement dynamics in the Belo Monte case,
myattempttoapplyWesternconceptsfromsocialmovementtheorytoacasestudyfrom
theglobalSouth,3andmyfocusonindividuallevelexperiencescalledforaqualitativere
search design that would allow the reconstruction of meaning pertaining to identity and
framing processes in the movement. The experiences from the Belo Monte research project
areusedtoillustratethemethodologicaldiscussioninthispaperinordertodemonstrateand
promotepossibilitiesfortheapplicationofGTMinforeignlanguageinterviewstudies.

2 IwouldliketothankSebastianElischer,KaiUweSchnapp,andRolandWillnerfortheircommentsonearlier
draftsofthispaper.
3 WhileitisanobvioussimplificationtospeakofWesternandnonWesterncountries,thetermsareused
as shorthand for more complex ideas about the implications of the traveling of theories and concepts.
Hence,inthispaperthetermWesternreferstoNorthAmericaandEurope,andtothetheoriesandmethods
ofsocialmovementresearchdevelopedthere.NonWesternreferstoanyothercountrythatbecomestheob
jectofresearchandthedestinationwhereWesterntheoriesandmethodsareapplied.
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2 GTMasaQualitativeResearchMethod
Grounded theory methodology was developed in the 1960s by the US sociologists Barney
Glaser andAnselm Strauss with the objectives of disclosing their own research procedures
and offering a formalized research program that emphasized openness and unbiasedness
towardstheempiricalphenomenon.GlaserandStraussdeliberatelyframedtheirmethodas
a reaction to two major trends in research in the 1960s namely, a tendency to formulate
grand theories on the one hand and a disposition towards mere description on the other
(Kuckartz2010:73;Mey/Mruck2009:104).Againstthisbackground,GTMstrovetodevelop
empiricallygroundedmiddlerangetheoriesbyprovidinganunbiasedandopenapproach.
GTMfocusesoninterpersonalrelationshipsandtheactionsofindividualsingroupsand
largersocialsettings(Mey/Mruck2009:101102).Duetoitsmicrosociologicalperspective,it
has been applied in a variety of disciplines and in interdisciplinary research. However, its
application in political science is a relatively recent phenomenon (von Oertzen 2006: 146).
The objective of GTM is to investigate individual and social practices by taking empirical
findings to a higher level of abstraction and developing hypotheses and/or middlerange
theories that are empirically grounded hence the name grounded theory (Mey/Mruck
2009:104;Strauss1998:5051;vonOertzen2006:146).
Initially,GlaserandStrausscalleduponresearcherstoignoretheirtheoreticalknowledge
andtofullyimmersethemselvesinthedata(Glaser/Strauss1967:37).Thisinstructionledto
theclassificationofGTMasaninductiveapproach(Kuckartz2010:73),eventhoughitactu
allycontainsbothinductiveanddeductiveelements(Corbin/Strauss2008:325326).GTMis
inductiveinthatthedevelopedcategoriesaregroundedindata.Yet,qualitativestudiesgen
erallyrelyondeductionwhenempiricalmaterialisinterpretedandcontextualizedinlightof
theresearchquestion(Corbin/Strauss2008:326;Kelle2011:236237;Mey/Mruck2009:105).
ThegroundedtheorymethodologysensuStraussandCorbinmakesavirtueofnecessityby
deliberatelyusingtheresearchersideasandpreviousknowledgetobuildaheuristicframe
workthatguidestheanalysis.Becausehypothesisdevelopmentandtheorybuildingdepend
onthecreativecombinationofempiricalfactsandexistingtheoreticalknowledge,classifying
GTMaseitheraninductiveoradeductiveprocessismisleading(Kelle2011:247249).
AlthoughGTMoffersanentireresearchprogram,themethodologydoesnotprescribea
precise procedure and can even be applied selectively throughout the research process
(Mey/Mruck2009:148;vonOertzen2006:146).Consequently,theresearchdesignshouldbe
explicitly tailored to the research question and the particular circumstances of the research
projectinordertogeneratetheintendedcontributiontotheoreticalknowledge(Mey/Mruck
2009:139;Strauss1998:3233).Researchersarefreetochoosetheirinstrumentsfordatacol
lection,thedegreeofabstractionofthetheorytheyseektodevelop,andtheirhermeneutic
procedure (von Oertzen 2006: 146) Yet, as Juliet Corbin emphasizes, they should be very
clearatthebeginningofastudywhatitistheyaresettingouttodo(Corbin/Strauss2008:x).

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InanefforttostructuretheextensiveliteratureonconceptsandapproachesinGTM,Mey
andMruckselectthreeelementstheyconsiderconstitutiveofthemethodology(Mey/Mruck
2009:108114):
1) Building of concepts instead of description: The principle task of GTM is the analytical
step from data to concepts. It is assumed that any data segment, for example, an inter
viewstatement,pointstobroaderunderlyingideas.Relevantdatasegmentsaretherefore
considered empirical indicators of theoretical concepts (Strauss 1998: 54). Concepts are
developed through constant comparison, interpretation, and abstraction of data seg
ments,andtheyeventuallyformthebuildingblocksofanempiricallygroundedtheory
(Mey/Mruck2009:109).
2) Theoreticalsamplingandtheoreticalsaturation:WhenGTMisused,datacollectionand
analysisshouldbeiterative,meaningthatafirstroundofdatacollectionshouldbefol
lowed by data analysis and a subsequent round of data collection based on the initial
findings.Thisprocedureleadstothetheoreticalsamplingofinterviewsandcontributes
tothetheoreticalsaturationoftheconcepts.4
3) Writing of memos throughout the whole research process: GTM requires that the deci
sionsregardingcaseselection,sampling,andanalysisthataretakenrepeatedlythrough
outtheresearchprocessbedocumentedinmemos.
Basedonthesecharacteristics,GTMwasidentifiedasthemostsuitableapproachforthein
vestigation of the social movement opposing the Belo Monte Dam, for three reasons. First,
thestudyaimedtocriticallyapplyexistingtheoriesandtocontributetheoreticallygrounded
concepts to the existing theoretical body, with the objective of developing empirically
groundedmiddlerangetheories.Second,whenapplyingWesterntheoriestononWestern
casestudies,attentionshouldbepaidtopossibledifferencesinthemeaningofconcepts.This
necessitates an open approach that uncovers indexicality.5Third, GTM is particularly well
suitedforresearchconductedinforeignlanguages,asdiscussedinSection5.
2.1 DataRequirementsandDataCollectionMethod
Socialsciencemethodologyoffersavarietyoftechniquesforthecollectionoforiginaldata.
Theselectionofanappropriatemethoddependsfirstandforemostontheresearchinterest,
thetheoreticalperspective,andtheassociateddatarequirements(Helfferich2009:26).How

4 Inastrictsense,saturationdoesnotreferonlytointervieweesgivingsimilarresponsestointerviewquestions.
Instead,theoreticalsaturationreferstothegradualdevelopmentofconceptsbasedonthepurposefulandse
lectivecollectionofthosedatathatcontributetotheanalysis.
5 ThetermindexicalitystemsfromlinguisticsandwasintroducedtosociologybyUSsociologistHaroldGar
finkel.Indexicalityreferstothefactthatlanguageisvagueandthatverbalexpressionsmerelypointtowards
meaningthatisdependentoncontext(Przyborski/WohlrabSahr2010:29;Garfinkel1981:204205).Hence,a
statement can have different meanings in different contexts, and it may only be comprehensible for those
peoplewhoarefamiliarwiththecontext.TheimplicationsofindexicalityarediscussedfurtherinSection2.1.
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ever,theconstraintsandcostsofdatacollectionhavetobeconsideredaswell.Asforthedata
requirements,animportantaspectisthelevelofanalysisthestudyaspiresto.
TheBeloMontestudyrequiredqualitativedataonthemotives,objectives,ideas,andbe
liefsofthesocialmovementparticipants.Qualitativedatareferstodescriptive,nonnumerical
dataintheformofwrittentext,includingfieldobservations,interviews,anddocumentsas
wellasimages,video,andaudiomaterialthathasbeentranscribed(Miles/Huberman1994:9).
Qualitative data are usually produced through field research that is, extended stays in a
specificlocalsetting(Miles/Huberman1994:9).Theyareparticularlysuitedtotheanalysisof
meaningsthatpeopleattributetostructures,processes,andevents.Moreover,theyareespe
ciallyusefulinexploratorystudiesandinthedevelopmentofhypotheses(Miles/Huberman
1994:910).Whilesocialmovementorganizationsandactivistshaveproducedwrittenmate
rialabouttheBeloMonteconflictandtheassociatedcollectiveaction,thismaterialgenerally
doesnotprovidepersonalaccountsoftheindividualsmotives,objectives,ideas,andbeliefs.
Therefore,originaldatahadtobecollectedthroughsemistructuredinterviewsaspartofthis
study.
AccordingtoHopf,qualitativeinterviewsoffertheopportunitytodiscoveractorspecific
interpretationsofsituationsandofthemotivesthatguidetheiractions(Hopf2012:350).The
literature distinguishes between a variety of qualitative interview types, which differ in
termsof
1) thestructurednessorpredeterminationoftheinterviewcontent,
2) theassessmentoftruthandaccuracy,
3) theroleallocationbetweeninterviewerandinterviewee,
4) thedegreeofsteeringonthepartoftheinterviewer,and
5) theexistenceofpreviousknowledgeonthepartoftheinterviewer(Helfferich2009:3738).
Accordingly,qualitativeinterviewsmayrangefromnarrativeinterviews,whicharecharac
terized by a monologic report from the interviewee, to focused interviews that are more
structured with respect to the topics, the involvement of the interviewer, and the develop
ment of the discussion (Helfferich 2009: 3839). According to Willner, researchers should
consider these dimensions before collecting data in order to ensure thegenerationof high
qualitydata(Willner2012:629).Assemistructuredinterviewsdeterminethestructureofthe
conversation,theyriskrestrainingtheintervieweefromexplicatinghisorherownrelevance
system andcommunicative patterns (Przyborski/WohlrabSahr 2010:138139). Therefore, it
isimportantthattheresearcherdesignstheinterviewguidecarefullyandtakestheparticular
interview situation into account when using it6(Przyborski/WohlrabSahr 2010: 139). Przy
borskiandWohlrabSahrrecommendstartingtheinterviewwithanopenquestionthatallows

6 Notably,theinterviewershouldavoidstickingtoocloselytotheinterviewguide(socalledLeitfadenbrokratie,
cf.Hopf1978:101106)andimposingherownrelevancesystemontotheintervieweesstatements.
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the interviewee to explicate his or her view of the relevant issue(s) in a narrative (Przy
borski/WohlrabSahr2010:140).
Evenifintervieweesaregivenroomtoexpresstheirrelevancesystemsautonomously,it
remainschallengingfortheresearchertofullycomprehendtherespondentsstructuringof
socialreality(Fremdverstehen,understandingtheother).Understandingbetweentwoormore
actorsalwaysrequiresintersubjectivitythatis,asharedunderstandingonthepartofper
sons A and B with respect to the meaning of As action (cf. Schneider 2009: 13). The exact
meaning of verbal and nonverbal expressions is always specified by context, making com
munication indexical (Przyborski/WohlrabSahr 2010: 31). Qualitative research seeks to un
cover this indexicality by enabling research participants to explain their relevance system,
and by systematically addressing potential differences in the interpretive frames of the re
searcher(s)andresearchparticipants(Przyborski/WohlrabSahr2010:31).
TheinterviewguidesfortheBeloMontestudyweredevelopedinconsiderationofthese
issues. I chose semistructured interviews based on interview guides because my objective
was to collect personal accounts from social movement participants about the conflict and
thecollectiveaction,whileatthesametimefocusingonspecificaspectsofthecollectiveac
tion.Hence,Ipaidattentiontoenablingintervieweestoexpressthemselvesfreelyandopenly
withintherealmofthespecificthemes.Tothatend,allbutoneoftheinterviewswerecon
ductedinPortuguese,theintervieweesnativeorworkinglanguage.Theimplicationsofdoing
interviewresearchinaforeignlanguagemeritaseparatediscussion,whichispresentedin
Section5.
All interviewees were provided with information materials about the study and an in
formedconsent form stating the purpose of the interview and guaranteeing confidentiality
toresearchparticipants.7
2.2 InterviewGuides
Theinterviewguidescomprisedfoursetsofquestionsforsocialmovementparticipantsand
sevensetsofquestionsforkeyinformants,8withtheadditionalquestionsdemandingahigher
degreeofreflectionaboutthesocialsettingandthecollectiveaction.Allinterviewquestions
wereprintedonindexcardsusingaconsistentlayout,thestructureofwhichwasbasedon
Kruse(2010:67).Thisstructureprovidesatableforeachissueareatheresearcherwantsto
addressduringtheinterview.Therespectivetopicisdisplayedabovethetable,andthecor
responding interview question or storytelling prompt is provided in the main field. Three
smallerfieldsatthebottomofthetabledisplayalistofkeyissuesthatshouldbeaddressed
(subject matter), as well as two sets of additional questions. The socalled perpetuation
questions offer alternative formulations in case the interviewee does not understand the

7 Formattersofresearchethicsanddataprotection,seeHelfferich(2009:190etseq.).
8 Inthecontextofthisstudy,akeyinformantisapersonwhoisperceivedbymovementparticipantsandthe
mediaasaleaderofthesocialmovement.
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questionordoesnotseemtalkative.Thesearebasicallyreformulationsoftheoriginalques
tionorstorytellingprompt.Thesocalledspecificationquestionsareusedtonarrowthe
scope of the question in order to address specific aspects, underlying issues, and relevant
backgroundknowledge.Becausetheyinducetheintervieweetoexplicatehisorherpercep
tionsandbeliefs,specificationquestionscanbeusedtouncoverindexicality.Table1shows
the opening question from the interview guide for social movement participants that was
usedtocollectqualitativedatainBelmandAltamirain2012.
Table1:OpeningQuestionoftheInterviewGuideforActivists,2012
1)InterpretiveFrameworks:HowDoActorsSeetheConflict?

TheBraziliangovernmentwantstobuildalargehydropowerdam,thesocalledBeloMonteDam,ontheXingu
River.However,theprojectishighlycontroversialandhasgeneratedaveryemotional,polemicdiscussion.
Manyargumentshavebeenpresentedinfavorofandagainstthehydropowerdam.

HowwouldyoudescribethecoreissuesintheBeloMonteconflict?Beyondthearguments,whatdoesBelo
Montereallymeanforthepeople,fortheAmazon,andforBrazil?

Subjectmatter

Perpetuation

Thekeyissues:justice,develop
Whydoyouthinkthegovernment
ment,progress,etc.
wantstobuildthedam,andwhyis
Theconsequencesandeffectsof
itcontroversial?
BeloMonte
Whatwillhappen(topeopleand
Theclassificationofthecontentious theenvironment)ifBeloMonteis
built?
issueasaconflict/fight/war
Whatdoesitmeantobuilda
Thebroaderimplicationsofdams
hydropowercomplexontheXingu
intheAmazon
River?

Specification
Whyisthereaconflict?
Whataretheconsequencesofthe
projectinsocial,environmental,
andeconomicterms?
Whatdoesitmeantoopposethe
buildingofthedam?
Doestheprojecthavebroadercon
sequencesbeyondthisregion?

Tooperationalizethetheoreticalconceptsfordatacollection,identitywasdefinedaspartici
pantspersonalmotivesforcollectiveactionandtheirroleinthesocialmovement.Collective
actionframes,definedasactionorientedsetsofbeliefsandmeanings(Benford/Snow2000:
614),wereoperationalizedastheintervieweesperceptionoftherealmeaningoftheBelo
Monte Dam and the associated costs and benefits. In the opening question, interviewees
wereaskedtodescribewhattheyperceivedasthecoreissuesoftheconflictbeyondthear
gumentsprevalentinthepublicdebate.Theallusiontotherealmeaningwassupposedto
preventtheinterviewees,andespeciallythosewithmediaexperience,fromgivingstandard
ordesirableanswers.

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2.3 SamplingProcedure
The sampling strategy suggested by grounded theory methodology is called theoretical
samplingandreflectsthereiterativeapproachtodatacollectionandanalysisthatistypical
ofGTM.Theoreticalsamplingisacircularprocessthatischaracterizedanddifferentiated
fromothersamplingproceduresbytheimmediateanalysisofthecollecteddata.Inanideal
case,theresearcherstartstheanalysisrightaftercollectingthefirstpieceofdata,develops
preliminary concepts and subsequent questions, and continues the data collection with a
specificfocusontheconceptssheisinterestedin.Hence,theresearcherisnotsamplingre
search participants (i.e., people) but concepts (Corbin/Strauss 2008: 144). Theoretical sam
plingcontinuesuntildatasaturationisreached,meaningthatallcategoriesaresufficiently
developedintermsoftheirpropertiesanddimensions.However,manyresearchers(haveto)
finishdatacollection(too)earlybecauseoflimitedresources(Corbin/Strauss2008:148149).
Becauseeveryresearchprojectfacesconstraints,theidealpracticeoftheoreticalsamplingis
oftenunfeasible,especiallyiftheresearchtakesplaceabroad(Corbin/Strauss2008:58).Many
researchersrelyonvariationsoftheoreticalsamplingthataligntheformalrequirementswith
thepracticalconstraintsoftheresearchproject(Corbin/Strauss2008:153etseq.).
Mostimportant,thesamplinganddatacollectionprocedureshavetobeconsistentwith
the theoretical perspective and associated data requirements of the particular study. In the
BeloMontestudy,thesamplingprocedurewasbasedoninitialdocumentresearchthatre
sultedintheidentificationofmorethan130socialmovementorganizationsparticipatingin
thecollectiveaction.Theseorganizationsweregroupedintocategoriesaccordingtotheirin
terestsandareasofexpertise.Thesamplingstrategywasdesignedsothatatleastoneorgan
ization in each category was investigated by means of a semistructured interview and a
standardized questionnaire on institutional relations. To ensure that the interviewees were
representative9of their organizations, the following criteria were established: Interviewees
shouldhavecomparablepositionswithintheirrespectiveorganizationsbuttheyshouldnot
merelyoccupyrepresentationalposts.Instead,intervieweesshouldbeinvolvedintheactual
workandactivitiesoftheorganizationrelatedtotheBeloMonteconflictsothattheyareable
tomakeknowledgeablestatements.Despitetheseratherstrictselectioncriteria,interviewees
wererecruitednotbecauseoftheirparticularstatusandformalexpertisebutasexpertson
their personal involvement in the collective action against Belo Monte (cf. Helfferich 2009:
163).Thesamplingprocedurealsoallowedtheintervieweesfromtheaboveorganizationsto
nominatefurtherresearchparticipantswhomtheyconsideredtobeimportantactorswitha
strong and positive reputation among movement participants. Thus, the identification and
selectionofintervieweeswasbasedmainlyonsubstantialcriteriathatconsideredthecontext
oftheindividualorganizationratherthanonformalcriteria.

9 Inthiscontext,representativemeansthatpeoplefulfillanumberofcriteriathatmakethemeligibletospeak
onbehalfofacollective.Itdoesnotrefertorepresentativenessinthestrictstatisticalsense.
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Asthedatahadtobesampledinonego,Ipostponedthetheoreticalsamplinguntilthe
data analysis. The sequence I chose to code the interviews during the data analysis was
basedontheprinciplesoftheoreticalsampling,inthatIsoughtminimalandmaximalcon
trastsinthedata(cf.Corbin/Strauss2008:150).Basedonmyknowledgeoftheinterviewcon
tentsandpeculiarities,Ialwaystriedtoselectaninterviewthatwouldcontributetotheelab
orationoftheconcept(s)Iwasworkingonatthattime.

3 DataAnalysis
Since the development of GTM in the 1960s, a number of scholars have contributed to ad
vancing the methodology and various approaches have emerged.10Researchers are free to
tailortheirmethodsandprocedurestotheirparticularresearchprojectinordertoobtainan
adequateanalyticalframework,yettheyarerequestedtoexplicatetheiranalyticalapproach
andobjectives.Thissectiondiscussestheprocessofdataanalysis,frominterviewtranscrip
tionandthedisclosureofprevious knowledgeandassumptionstocodingandconceptual
ization.Thediscussiondrawsuponandemphasizestheactualcourseofactiontakeninthe
BeloMontestudy.
3.1 InterviewTranscription
Thetranscriptionofinterviewsisanimportantstepintheresearchprocessthattendstore
ceivetoolittleattentionfromresearchersespeciallyinthesocialsciences(Davidson2009:46;
Lapadat2000:204).Theprocessincludesanumberofdecisionswithrespecttothetranscrip
tionofverbalandnonverbalinformation(e.g.,utterances,gestures,andmimics),therepre
sentationoftimingandsequenceofspeech(e.g.,overlaps,pauses,andsilence),therepresen
tation of dialects, and other factors. As Ochs states, transcription is a selective process re
flectingtheoreticalgoalsanddefinitions(Ochs1979:44,boldintheoriginal),andsomein
formation is omitted for practical and theoretical reasons. As a general rule, the transcript
shouldbelimitedtothelevelofdetailandaccuracythatisnecessarytoanswertheresearch
question (Meuser/Nagel 1991: 455456; Strauss 1987: 266267). The numerous choices a re
searchermakesbeforeandduringthetranscriptionprocessneedtobeacknowledgedand
explainedinrelationtothegoalsofastudyratherthantakentobeunremarkable(Davidson
2009:38).
In political science, qualitative interviews are viewed as a means to gather information
anddataabouttheissue(s)underinvestigation(Behnkeetal.2006:234).Hence,thefocusis
onthesubjectmatter.Transcriptionrulestendtobesimple,andresearchersrarelyreporton
thedecisionstakenduringtheprocess.AlthoughthequalitativeinterviewsintheBeloMonte

10Foranoverviewofthemethodandofitsapplicationinpracticeandinthecontextofdifferentdisciplines,see
Bryant/Charmaz(2007).
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13

study provided not merely factual information but also personal accounts of subjective
meanings,thestudydidnotpursuealinguisticanalysis.Simpletranscriptionruleswereap
pliedinordertofacilitatethetranscriptionprocessandproducealegiblewrittendocument.
Itisimportanttonotethatitwasnotthetranscriptsbutrathertheresearchrecordingsthat
is,theconversationsIengagedinwithresearchparticipantsthatIconsideredtobedata.
Iviewedtranscriptsasatooltohelpwiththeanalysisoforiginaldata.Whenevertherewas
doubtaboutthereliabilityofthetranscriptoranindicationthatpausesinspeechorthetone
ofvoicemightberelevanttotheinterpretation,Iturnedtotheoriginalaudiofilesinorder
nottolosecontextualinformation.
IntheBeloMontestudy,aresearchassistanttranscribedtheinterviews.11 For data security
and confidentiality purposes, this person signed a written agreement specifying concrete
measuresfordataprotectionandhandling.Moreover,theresearchassistantwasproperlyin
formedabouttheresearchproject anditsobjectives,andprovidedwithallthematerialre
quiredtofacilitatehiswork.12 Theoutsourcingofinterviewtranscriptiontoaresearchassis
tantiscontroversial;first,becauseitmightdistancetheresearcherfromthedataand,second,
because the transcriber assumes an analytical role and takes interpretive decisions that
should actually remain with the researcher (Lapadat 2000: 215216). Therefore, he or she
shouldbenotonlywelltrainedbutalsofamiliarwiththeresearchprocessanditsobjectives,
andheorsheshouldideallybeincludedinotherstepsoftheresearch(Lapadat2000:216).In
the Belo Monte study, the transcription process was expected to be particularly time
consuming due to the mediocre quality of the audio files and the additional challenges of
transcribinginterviewsinaforeignlanguage.Therefore,theoutsourcingofthetranscription
toaqualifiedresearchassistantseemedjustified.
ThetranscriptionrulesappliedintheBeloMontestudywerebasedonKuckartz(2010:44),
and I developed additional rules in collaboration with the transcriber to accommodate the
particularitiesofthestudy.Thefocusoftranscriptionwasplacedonthecontentofthecon
versation in order to allow for alignment with written language. Paralanguage (e.g., gasps
andsighs)andshortpausesintheflowofwordswereconsideredirrelevantforthepurposes
of this study. However, longer pauses and exceptional reactions, such as crying and strug
gling to retain composure on the part of the interviewees, were considered relevant and
thereforenotedinthetranscripts.

11TheresearchassistantwasaPortuguesenativespeakerandlanguageteacherwhohadextensiveexperiencein
thetranscriptionofsemistructuredinterviews.Hewasinvolvedinthetranslationoftheinterviewguidesand
thetranscriptionoftheinterviewaudiofiles.
12Theinformationincluded(1)writteninstructionsfordatahandlingingeneralandtranscriptionoftheinter
viewsinparticular(transcriptionrules);(2)theinterviewguidesused;(3)acompletelistofinterviewswith
additionalinformationonhowtoproceedwiththedata;and(4)alistofpeople,places,indigenoustribes,or
ganizations,anddocumentsthatwerementionedfrequentlyintheinterviews.
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Thetranscriptionoforalconversationsautomaticallyreducesthecomplexityofthedata.
The disadvantages arising from the determination of certain readings or interpretations of
thedata,however,arebalancedbytheadvantagesofimprovingthemanageabilityofthedata
throughdatareduction(Kruseetal.2012b:61).Datareductionisalmostunavoidableinthe
transcriptionofspokenlanguageasintervieweestendtosplutter,tomergeorinventwords,
ortobreakoffmidwordormidsentence.Inthesecasesthetranscriptcanonlyapproximate
theoriginalutterance.AstheBeloMontestudywasnotinterestedinlinguisticanalysis,the
transcriptionrulesinstructedthetranscribertonotethebrokenoffutteranceandtranscribe
the next intelligible word. Moreover, the transcription rules allowed for the correction of
small grammatical errors such as linguistic agreement in order to approximate standard
writtenPortugueseandimprovethemanageabilityofthetranscriptfornonnativeresearchers.
3.2 SensitizingConcepts
Because they were concerned with openness and unbiasedness towards the empirical phe
nomenon, the early founders of grounded theory methodology proposed that previous
knowledgeandliteratureshouldbelargelyignoredatthebeginningofanewresearchpro
ject(Glaser/Strauss1967:37;Mey/Mruck2009:105).Whilethisdirectionwashistoricallyjus
tified, it lost its strength over time,and a dispute about the correct handling ofprevious
knowledgeledtothepartingofGlaserandStraussinthe1990s(Kelle2011:242243).13Sub
sequently, Strauss and his student Juliet Corbin developed an independent strand of GTM
thatcontinuedtodemandconceptualopennessfromtheresearcherbutthatGlaserneverthe
lesscriticizedharshly.
Data analysis sensu Strauss and Corbin is based on a coding paradigm and socalled
sensitizingconceptsthatfacilitatethedeliberateuseofprevioustheoreticalknowledgein
the analysis.14Researchers following Strauss and Corbins argument emphasize that refer
ringtoexistingliteraturethroughouttheresearchprocesscontributestoabetterunderstand
ingofonesownempiricalwork(Corbin/Strauss2008:75).Attheendoftheresearchproject,
theconceptsand/ortheoriesdevelopedfromtheempiricaldatacanbecomparedwithexist
ing theories (Mey/Mruck 2009: 108). According to Kelle, the development of empirically
groundedtheoriesshouldalwaysbeguidedbyanadequateepistemologicalmodelthatre
latesdatatotheory(Kelle2011:258).Yetthereferencetoliteratureandpreviousknowledge
in the data analysis entails the risk of constricting the analysis and predetermining the re
searchoutcome(Kruse2010:305).Theresearchersideas,interests,andpreviousknowledge
makeupherrelevancesystemandworklikescannersontheempiricaldata(Kruse2010:190;

13AdetaileddiscussionofthecontroversybetweenGlaserandStraussandtheunderlyingtheoreticaltraditions
oftheirapproachesisprovidedinKelle(2011).
14TheideaisbasedontheworkofStrausssmentorHerbertBlumer,whoelaboratedonthecostsandbenefits
associatedwiththeinaccuracyandvaguenessofsociologicalconcepts(Blumer1954:7,ascitedinKelle1997:
235).Kelle(1997:232241)providesadetaileddiscussionofBlumersworkonsensitizingconcepts.
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cf.Corbin/Strauss2008:3233;Kelle2011:237).Byhighlightingcertainelementsinthedata
and omitting others, the scanners restrict the range of possible interpretations the re
searcherisabletoidentify.Hence,inordertoremainasopenandunbiasedaspossible,she
shouldreflectuponherrelevancesystemanddiscloseitselementsinthesensitizingconcepts
(Kruse2010:190).
The Belo Monte study was likely influenced by my theoretical knowledge about social
movements,bypracticalexperiencesthatIgatheredduringfieldresearchinBrazil,andby
myexpectationsabouttheoutcomeoftheanalysis.Theseelementsconstitutemyrelevance
system. They determined my view of the empirical phenomenon and my interpretation of
thedata.Inordertoopenmymindandavoidbiasintheanalysis,Idevelopedsixsensitizing
concepts that explicated my previous knowledge, my experiences, and my expectations.
Theywereformallyincludedintheanalysisinthateachsensitizingconceptwasevaluatedin
comparisonwithempiricaldata.Basedontheliteraturereview,Idecidedtotreatthecollec
tive action against Belo Monte as a social movement. A review of the different research
strandsinsocialmovementresearchledmetofocusoncollectiveidentitiesandcollectiveac
tionframes.Thefollowingsensitizingconceptsthusguidedthedataanalysisandhypothe
sesgenerationprocesses:
1) ThecollectiveactionagainstBeloMonteconstitutesasocialmovement.Thissensitizingconcept
wasbasedonmovementparticipantsandobserversdenotationofthecollectiveaction
asasocialmovement.Becausethisclassificationwassetforthnotasanassumptionbut
asasensitizingconcept,Iwasabletoanalyzeitindetailthroughouttheresearchprocess
andreviseifnecessary.
2) Collective identities and collective action frames are the object of analysis. In the Belo Monte
study,collectiveidentitiesandcollectiveactionframeswereassumedtobecentraltothe
successfulmobilizationofactorsandthemaintenanceofmovementcohesion.Therefore,
theyconstitutedthetheoreticalperspectivetakeninthestudy.
3) Westerntheoriesandconceptsneedtobeproblematized.Social movementtheorywaslargely
developedinEuropeandNorthAmerica,andisthereforerootedinWesternhistoryand
theory.Thissensitizingconceptenabledmetoproblematizeanddiscusstheapplicability
of Western theories in the particular case study, and to address issues such as the
travellingofconceptsandconceptualstretching.15
4) Amazoniaconstitutesaspecificsettingforsocialmovements. The Amazon region is very di
verseintermsofsettlementandlivingconditionsaswellastheinhabitantssociocultural
structuresamongotherthings.Thissensitizingconceptdrawsattentiontotheparticu
larproblemsintheregionandtheirimplicationsforthedevelopmentandmaintenance
ofasocialmovement.

15For a discussion of the applicability of Western concepts in nonWestern cases, see Abers/von Blow 2011,
Mercer2002,andZinecker2011;forconceptualstretching,seeSartori1970.
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5) The Catholic Church plays a central role in the lives of the local population. The Prelature of
Xinguwasfoundedin1934.MediacoverageofthecollectiveactionagainstBeloMonte
indicates that the current bishop of Xingu, Erwin Krutler, as well as several organiza
tionsassociatedwiththeCatholicChurchofBrazil(e.g.,theIndianistMissionaryCouncil)
haveplayedaninfluentialroleinthecollectiveactionagainstBeloMonte.Thesampleof
intervieweesthereforeincludedclergymembersandemployeesofchurchorganizations.
6) Womenhavetakenonleadershippositionsinthecollectiveaction.Mediacoverageofthecollec
tiveactionalsodemonstratesthestronginvolvementofwomenintheprotest.Thissensi
tizingconceptenabledacloseanalysisofleadershipingeneralandthediverserolesof
womeninthesocialmovementagainsttheBeloMonteDaminparticular.
Sensitizingconceptscanonlybeusedasastartingpointfortheanalysisofdataandthede
velopmentoftheory(Charmaz2003:259).Incontrasttohypotheses,whichcanbetestedus
ingstandardizedmethods,sensitizingconceptsdonotmakepredictionsabouttherelation
shipsbetweenvariables;rather,theyreflecttheresearcherspreliminaryideasaboutthere
searchobjectandherresearchinterest(Kruse2010:191;Kelle2011:250).Becausetheyexpli
cated my expectations and disclosed my relevance system with respect to the Belo Monte
case,thesensitizingconceptsstructuredthedataanddrewmyattentiontothoseaspectsthat
wererelevanttotheresearchquestion(i.e.,identitiesandcollectiveactionframes).
3.3 CodingandConceptualization
ThecentralelementofdataanalysiswithinGTMisthethoroughcodingoftheempiricalma
terial.Codingreferstothedevelopmentofconceptsandcategoriesandtotheassignmentof
correspondingcodestothedata(Kuckartz2010:74).Thegeneralaimofcodingistoveeraway
fromtheempiricalmaterialinordertoavoiditsmerereproduction(Kuckartz2010:96).
AccordingtoStrauss,theresearcherdevelopsconceptsonthebasisofempiricalindica
torsthatcaptureeventsandactionsofinteresttohimorher(Strauss1998:54).Categoriesare
moreabstractconcepts,andtheythusgrouptogetherconceptswithlowerlevelsofabstrac
tion(Corbin/Strauss2008:52;Kuckartz2010:75).Oncetheanalysismovesuptheconceptual
ladder,theconceptsbecomebroaderandgainexplanatoryvalue,whileatthesametimelos
ing some of their specificity. Consequently, higherlevel concepts (=categories) have to rest
solidly on lowerlevel concepts, which are in turn based on data (Corbin/Strauss 2008: 52).
The term code refers to the word or short phrase that denotes an underlying concept or
category(Mey/Mruck2009:114).16
Conceptsandcategoriesaredevelopedgraduallythroughouttheanalysis;thecodesmay
berevised,merged,ordiscardedcompletely.Thedenotationoftheempiricalphenomenon
(i.e.,thecode)canderiveeitherfromtheoreticalknowledge(conceptualcodes)orfromthe
originaldata,inwhichcaseitusestheexactwordingoftheresearchparticipants(invivo

16Someauthorsdiscardthetermandspeakdirectlyofconceptsandcategoriesinstead.
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codes)(Corbin/Strauss2008:65;Kuckartz2010:75;Mey/Mruck2009:114115).Eachtypeof
codeisanalytic,inthatitenablestheresearchertoabstractfromthedataandrelatethecon
cepttootherconcepts(Strauss1998:64).Atthebeginningofdataanalysis,conceptstendto
belocatedatdifferentlevelsofabstraction.Overthecourseoftheanalysistheyaregradually
refined,relatedtoeachother,andgroupedintocategories(vonOertzen2006:149).Thispro
cess involves the constant comparison of concepts and categories within and across docu
ments,somethingthatistypicalofGTM(Mey/Mruck2009:109).
ThecodingprocedureintroducedbyCorbinandStraussischaracterizedbythreesteps,
calledopen,axial,andselectivecoding(Corbin/Strauss2008:66,159160;Mey/Mruck2009:
117; von Oertzen 2006: 148). However, the differentiation between these steps is first and
foremost an analytical one. Although the procedure is rulebased and systematic
(Mey/Mruck2009:116),itisalsorepetitive,meaningthatthethreestepscannotbeseparated
norputintosequentialorder(Kuckartz2010:79).Thecodingprocessischaracterizedbyan
increasing degree of abstraction with repeated returns to lower levels of abstraction
(Mey/Mruck 2009: 117). Due to space limitations, the following section focuses on the pre
dominant tasks involved in coding illustrating them with references to the Belo Monte
studyratherthanrecountingopen,axial,andselectivecodingindetail.17
The first predominant task is for the researcher to immerse him or herself in the data,
whichismainlydoneusingopencoding.Opencodingfocusesonbreakingup,investigating,
conceptualizing,andcategorizingthedata(Kuckartz2010:75)throughtheconstantcompar
ison of statements and with a focus on the properties and dimensions of the concepts
(Corbin/Strauss2008:7374;Strauss1998:100).Duringthisinitialphaseitisessentialthatthe
researcherremainopenmindedandwillingtobesurprisedbythedata.IntheBeloMonte
study,Iinitiallyadvancedlinebyline,18askingmyselfquestionsaboutthemeaning,condi
tions,causes,objectives,andresultsoftheactionandaboutalternativestoit,andthendraw
ing comparisons to similar incidents. This enabled meto understandhow the interviewees
developed their arguments and to engage with the internal logic of their narratives. After
codingeachinterview,Iidentifiedthecategoriesthatseemedcentraltotherespectiveinter
vieweesargumentsabout(1)themeaningofBeloMonteand(2)hisorhermobilizationand
participationinthesocialmovement.
IwasthusabletoquicklyidentifyrecurrentthemesandrelevantcategoriesthatIcould
elaborateoninthenextstepofdataanalysis.Overtime,relationshipsbetweencodesstarted
to emerge and more conceptual work on individual codes was initiated; meanwhile, other

17The interested reader is referred to the relevant literature by Corbin and Strauss (2008), Mey and Mruck
(2009),andvonOertzen(2006).
18Theindepthanalysisofsinglewordsorphraseshasbeentermedmicroanalysisandisconsideredparticu
larly useful at the beginning of the research process as it enables the researcher to develop ideas about the
empirical phenomenon (Corbin/Strauss 2008: 59; Strauss 1998: 100). However, as microanalysis is a time
consumingtool,itcanalsobeappliedselectivelytothedataset(Corbin/Strauss2008:71).
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codes remained at a preliminary stage and new codes were still in the making. Hence, the
codingprocesswascharacterizedbythemovementbackandforthbetweeninterviewsand
theelaborationofcodesandcategoriesatvariouslevelsofanalysis.
The second predominant task of coding is the constant comparison of categories, con
cepts, and empirical incidents. This is mainly done using axial and selective coding. Axial
codingaimstoelaborateontheconceptsandcategoriesdevelopedduringopencodingwith
the objective of establishing the relationships between them (Kelle 2011: 241; Mey/Mruck
2009:117;vonOertzen2006:150151).Asthetransitionfromopentoaxialcodingisfluent,
the researcher can return to open coding and review codes and categories at any point in
time(Mey/Mruck2009:129).IntheBeloMontestudy,opencodingledtothedevelopmentof
threebroadcategoriesentitledframing,identity,andmovementdynamicsthatcompriseda
large number of lowerlevel concepts. During the axial coding I developed these concepts
andtherelationshipsbetweenthembyconstantlycomparingtheunderlyingempiricalinci
dents.Theanalyticaltoolsofposingquestionsanddrawingcomparisonsledtothefurther
development of concepts and categories. These then guided the theoretical sampling and
analysisofthenextinterview(Strauss1998:42).Toadvancethetheoreticalintegrationofthe
interpretiveworkthemainpurposeofselectivecodingIthenfocusedmyattentionona
limitednumberofcorecategories.Selectivecodingcomprisestheidentificationofacorecate
gory 19 and the elaboration of its relationships with all other categories through constant
comparison (Corbin/Strauss 2008: XX; Kuckartz 2010: 77). Its connection with all the other
categories means that the core category plays a central role in integrating, densifying, and
saturatingthetheory.Whilethenumberofcategoriesisreducedtoaminimuminthispro
cess, special attention is paid to the properties and dimensions of the concepts in order to
developaparsimoniousbutfarreachingtheory(Strauss1998:66).
FromtheverybeginningIdraftedcodingnotesforeachinterviewaswellasanalytical
memos about individual concepts and their relationships with other concepts. This proce
dureproducedalargeamountofwrittenmaterial;however,italsoraisedtheanalysistoa
moreconceptuallevelandfacilitatedtheelaborationofcategoriesandtheirrelationships(cf.
Corbin/Strauss2008:120).

4 QualityAssessment
Not only quantitative but also qualitative empirical research has to meet certain quality
standards.Theevaluationofquantitativeresearchisgenerallybasedonthreecriteria:objec
tivity,reliability,andvalidity.Theyderivefrommeasurementtheoryandarethusbasedon
theassumptionthatempiricalphenomenaaregenerallymeasurable.

19Mostauthorsacknowledgethattheremaybemorethanonecorecategory(Kuckartz2010:82;Strauss1998:65;
vonOertzen2006:150).
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1) Objectivity exists when the results of measuring procedures are independent of the re
searcherapplyingtheprocedures(Przyborski/WohlrabSahr2010:40).
2) Reliabilityreferstothereproducibilityofempiricalresultsbydifferentresearchersapply
ingthesameprocedures(King/Keohane/Verba1994:2526).
3) Validityreferstotheadequatenessofanindicator(thetheoreticalconceptualization)for
measuringacertainempiricalphenomenon(King/Keohane/Verba1994:25).
However, manyscholars consider these criteria inappropriate forthe evaluation of qualita
tiveresearch,asitsfocusontheanalysisofmeaninginevitablyleadstosubjectivity.There
fore,qualitativescholarshavetodecidewhethertheywanttoacceptsubjectivityasanuna
voidableshortcoming; considerthisafaultthatcanbepartiallyeliminatedthroughcareful
researchdesign;orembracethisphenomenonasanaturalpartofresearch(Bergman/Coxon
2005:par.29).Somescholars,proposingthatanykindofscientificresearchshouldmeetthe
classiccriteria,havesoughttooperationalizethesecriteriaforqualitativestudies(Przyborski/
WohlrabSahr2010:35etseq.).However,manyphenomenastudiedinthesocialsciencesare
difficult to measure due to the potential for conceptual inaccuracy, sampling errors, and
measurement errors. Qualitative studies (which are based on linguistic and nonlinguistic
symbolssuchasspeech,music,orart)areespeciallypronetomisunderstandingsandmani
pulation, which impair the validity, reliability, and objectivity of the data. Consequently,
some scholars claim that the classic quality criteria cannot be transferred to qualitative re
searchastheobjectivesandapproachesofqualitativeandquantitativeresearcharedifferent
(Bergman/Coxon2005:par.8;Steinke2005:322).GroundedtheorymethodologysensuCorbin
and Strauss makes a virtue of necessity in that it embraces subjectivity as natural and
acknowledgestheroleoftheresearcherintheresearchprocess.Specifictools(e.g.,sensitiz
ingconcepts)areusedtodisclosetheresearcherspreviousknowledgeandassumptionsand
toevaluatetheroleofsubjectivityintheanalysis.
In an attempt to define quality criteria for qualitative research, Steinke (2005) proposes
the elaboration of criteria that are consistent with the epistemological underpinnings and
methodologicalapproachesofqualitativeresearch.However,ratherthanofferinganumber
ofindependentcriteria,shesuggeststhatqualitativeresearchbeevaluatedusingasystemof
criteria. As qualitative research projects differ significantly in terms of their research inter
ests,objectives,andprocedures,qualitycriteriashouldbeappliedselectivelyandoperation
alizedtomeetthespecificitiesoftheparticularresearchproject(Steinke2005:322324).
Steinkesproposedsystempertainstosevenareasofqualityassessment:
1) intersubjectcomprehensibility,
2) indicationoftheresearchprocess,
3) empiricalfoundation,
4) limitation,
5) coherence,
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6) relevance,and
7) reflectedsubjectivity(Steinke2005:232331).
WhileSteinkedoesnotexpectaqualitativeresearchprojecttofulfillallofthesecriteria,she
proposes that several of them should be met in order to ensure that quality standards in
qualitativeresearchareachieved.TheBeloMontestudypaidspecialattentiontothefollow
ingfivecriteria,whicharealsodiscussedintheliteratureonGTM:
1) Intersubject comprehensibility: While the identical replication of qualitative research is
impossibleduetoalackofstandardizationinmethodsandprocedures,qualitativestud
iesshouldaimforintersubjectcomprehensibility.Thisincludes
(1) providing comprehensive documentation of the research process that allows for the
evaluationofastudyonthebasisofitsowncriteria,
(2) conductinginterpretationsingroups,and
(3) usingcodifiedproceduresintheresearchdesign(Steinke2005:324326).
TheBeloMontestudysoughttoachieveintersubjectcomprehensibilitythroughthecompre
hensivedocumentationoftheresearchprocess;theintroductionofsensitizingconcepts;and
the thorough discussion of data requirements, data quality, data collection methods, sam
plingmethods,andtranscriptionmethods.Particularattentionwaspaidtotheimplications
of conducting interview research in a foreignlanguage.As coding and data analysis areat
the heart of GTM, the study thoroughly explained and reflected upon both with a view to
creating intersubject comprehensibility. Throughout the study, the empirical results were
substantiated using the original statements of the interviewees. The introductory chapter
documentedthedevelopmentoftheentireresearchprocessinaresearchbiography.While
datainterpretationingroupswashamperedbythemultilingualcharacterofthestudy,ana
tiveBraziliancolleagueperiodicallyprovidedadvice;herinfluenceontheinterpretationwas
documentedaccordingly.
2) Indicationoftheresearchprocess:Asecondsetofcriteriaisconcernedwiththeappro
priatenessof
(1) theresearchprocedure,
(2) thechoiceofmethodsandprocedures,
(3) thetranscriptionrules,
(4) thesamplingstrategy,and
(5) thequalitycriteria,aswellaswith
(6) thecoherenceofmethodsandproceduresandtheiradequacyinlightoftheavailable
resources(Steinke2005:326328).
The evaluation of the appropriateness of the researchers choices depends on the proper
documentationoftheresearchprocess,asoutlinedabove.TheapplicabilityoftheGTMap
proach to the Belo Monte studys research interest and objective was carefully evaluated
basedonthethreeconstitutiveelementsofthemethodology(seeSection2).
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3) Empirical foundation: Qualitative research, whether theory testing or theory building,

shouldrestsolidlyonempiricaldata.Theuseofcodifiedmethods,thecitationoforiginal
statements,analyticinduction,20thegenerationofprognoses,andcommunicativevalida
tioncontributetotheempiricalfoundationofaqualitativestudy(Steinke2005:328329).
TheempiricalfoundationoftheBeloMontestudyresultswasensuredviathethorough
applicationofGTM,whichaimstodeveloptheoreticalconceptsonthebasisofempirical
data.Thecodingprocesshelpstheresearcherdefinecategoriesthatrestsolidlyonlower
levelconcepts,whichareinturnbasedondata.TheBeloMontestudythuscitedoriginal
interview statements in its presentation of results to demonstrate the latters empirical
foundation.
4) Limitation: Another set of criteria refers to the generalizability of a studys results. The
contrastingofcasesthataremostsimilarandmostdifferent,aswellastheinvestigation
of deviant, negative, and extreme cases, contributes to the evaluation of this aspect
(Steinke2005:329330).ThegeneralizabilityoftheBeloMontestudysempiricalresults
hastobeevaluatedinlightoftheobjectivesofqualitativeresearchingeneralandofGTM
inparticular.Qualitativeresearchaimstoachieveanindepthunderstandingofapartic
ular phenomenon. While a single case study cannot be representative of a universe of
cases,itcancontributesubstantiallytotheunderstandingofcertainphenomenabyiden
tifyingrelevantconceptsinunderstudiedareas(Corbin/Strauss2008:319320).TheBelo
Monte studys objective was not to generalize from the collective action against Belo
Montetoallothercasesofcollectiveactionagainsthydropowerprojects,ortoallother
cases of collective action in Brazil. However, this studys findings provide insights re
garding the relevant issues and the underlying theoretical concepts associated with the
constructionofahydropowerdamintheBrazilianAmazon.
5) Reflected subjectivity: As mentioned above, qualitative research acknowledges that the
personalityoftheresearcherinfluencestheresearchprocess.Assubjectivityisunavoidable,
itshouldbereflectedthroughselfobservationandacriticalassessmentofonesownpo
sitionvisvistheresearchprojectandthepossibleresearchparticipants(Steinke2005:
330331).TheBeloMontestudyreflectedcriticallyontheroleoftheresearcherandthe
impactofsubjectivityontheanalysisusingthetoolsproposedbyGTM:sensitizingcon
ceptsandmemowriting.
Corbin and Strauss also propose the criterion of sensitivity. Claiming that objectivity in
qualitative research isamyth (Corbin and Strauss 2008:32), they suggest that researchers
shouldnoteventrytocreateanobjectivitythatcannotbeachieved.Instead,theyshouldde
liberatelyimmersethemselvesintheresearchandtrytoadopttheperspectiveoftheresearch
participants(Corbin/Strauss2008:32).TheBeloMontestudysoughttoachievesensitivityby

20AnalyticinductionisamethodoftheorygenerationdescribedbyBhlerNiederberger(1985).
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(1)explicatingandreflectingupontheresearchersperspectiveusingthesensitizingconcepts
and(2)seekingtointerprettheresultsfromtheintervieweeperspective.

5 ConductingInterviewResearchinaForeignLanguage
AkeychallengeoftheBeloMontestudywasthemultilingualnatureoftheresearch:thein
terviews were conducted in Portuguese; the report was produced in English; and the re
searchers native language was German. As Kruse and Schmieder stress, reconstructive
hermeneuticprocedures21areespeciallyappropriateforunderstandingmeaninginforeign
languagesituations(Kruse/Schmieder2012:251).GTMwasthereforeparticularlywellsuited
totheBeloMontestudy.
Qualitative researchers agree that interviews should be conducted in the interviewees
nativelanguage,asresearchparticipantsfeelmorecomfortableandexpressthemselvesmore
preciselyintheirnativelanguage(Kruse/Schmieder2012:248).Mostresearchersseektouse
aslittlesupportaspossiblefromnativespeakersandfocusonacquiringadequatelanguage
skillsthemselves(Kruseetal.2012b:3233).FortheBeloMontestudy,Igenerallyconducted
theinterviewsinPortuguese,thenativelanguageofmostinterviewpartnersandthework
ing language of nonBrazilian interviewees.22While the interviews were deliberately con
ducted without an interpreter, a research assistant helped with the translation of the inter
viewguidesfromEnglishtoPortugueseandwiththetranscriptionoftheaudiofilesinPor
tuguese.Althoughtheliteraturestressesthatinterviewguidesshouldnotpredeterminethe
formulation of questions and should not be read out to the interviewees (Helfferich 2009:
180),theinterviewguidewasanindispensableinstrumentinthismultilingualstudy.
Inordertoensurethequalityoftheoutsourcedtasks,I:
1) ensuredthattheresearchassistantwasadequatelyqualifiedandexperienced;
2) provided the research assistant with clear, written rules for transcription as well as
informationabouttheresearchprojectandhowtohandletheaudiodata;
3) consultedfrequentlywiththeresearchassistantandrevisedthetranscriptionrulesas
necessary;and
4) proofreadthetranscriptstoassessthetranscribersinterpretationsoftheaudiodata.
IntheBeloMontestudy,thequalityofthetranscriptswashigh,meaningthatonlyminorre
visionswererequired.23Smallgrammaticalcorrectionsmadebythetranscriber,suchasad

21KruseunderstandsGTMasareconstructivehermeneuticprocedure.Evenifonedoesnotsharethisview(due
tothedeductiveelementsinGTMorforotherreasons),itisreasonabletoconcludethatGTMisanadequate
approachforunderstandingmeaninginforeignlanguagesituations.
22ThelatterincludedmainlyclergywhohadbeenworkinginBrazilformanyyears.
23Most of theseconcerned thenames of places, people, events,etc. that were unknown to the transcriber and
thereforemisunderstood.
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justmentsforlinguisticagreement,wereaccepted,astheycontributedtothelegibilityofthe
transcriptwithoutchangingthecontentorthetoneofthestatements.
Whileinterviewresearchinforeignlanguagesandforeignculturesdemandsadditional
effortintermsofqualitycontrolandthemonitoringofresearchassistants,itofferssomein
terestingopportunities(Kruseetal.2012b).Duetotheirimperfectlanguageskills,interviewers
tendtoreducethepaceoftheconversationandthenumberofinterruptionstheymake,thus
enablingtheintervieweetoexplicatehisorheranswersatlength.Languagedifficultiescan
also be used deliberately as an excuse to request further explanations, examples, or para
phrasing of previous statements, which may result in more detailed narratives. Hence, im
perfectlanguageskillscanleadtomorecomprehensiveanddetailedresponses,whichmake
theintervieweesrelevancesystemclearertotheinterviewer(Kruseetal.2012b:40).
Anotherchallengeofmultilingualresearchisthepresentationoftheresultsinawritten
report.Whileitiscertainlydifficultfromalinguisticpointofviewtoconveymeaninginan
otherlanguage,politicalsciencegenerallypayslittleattentiontothetranslationofresearch.
In the Belo Monte study, the interview guides, audio files, and transcripts were in Portu
guese, while the results were reported in English. Hence, I used English to develop codes
and categories24and to draft memos. The translation of interview statements from Portu
guesetoEnglishwaslimitedtokeypassagesintendedtoprovidethereaderwithsomein
sightintotheintervieweesthoughtsandspeech.Astranslationscanneverbeexactequiva
lents,IappliedasetofrulesdevelopedbyNeloferHalai(2007)tothetranslationofinter
view statements. Seeking to reach inexact equivalence in her translations, Halai tried to
translate the interview text in such a way that the basic requirements of (a) making sense,
(b)conveyingthespiritandmanneroftheoriginal,and(c)have[sic]anaturalandeasyform
ofexpressionwereallmetadequately(Halai2007:351).
Whilethisdefinitionofthetranslationprocedureisvague,itdrawsaneffectivelinebe
tween literal and contentbased translation. As the aim of qualitative research is to under
standmeaning,translationrulesshouldbeopenenoughtoenableanadequateandauthentic
expressionofmeaninggiventhelinguisticandculturalcontextofthetargetlanguage.

6. ConclusionTheApplicabilityofGroundedTheoryMethodology
WhileGTMrepresentsafascinatingapproachtoqualitativeresearch,itscomprehensiveness
andflexibilityalsoleadtocomplexityandvagueness,thushamperingitsapplicationinre
searchprojectsand,especially,inPhDtheses.Asacomprehensiveresearchprogram,GTM
offersavarietyofinstrumentsandproceduresthatenableresearcherstouseitinthemost

24Invivocodesi.e.,codesthatadopttheexactwordingusedbyresearchparticipanttodenoteanunderlying
conceptwereassignedandreportedinPortuguese,andcomplementedbyadetailedexplanationoftheun
derlyingconceptinEnglish.
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InaPeters:TooAbstracttoBeFeasible?ApplyingtheGroundedTheoryMethodinSocialMovementResearch

diverseprojects.However,thismethodologicalfreedomrequiresthattheresearcherexplicate
her approach and critically reflect upon the objectives, procedures, and results of her study.
Simplystatingthatastudyisbasedongroundedtheorymethodologyisnotsufficient.
WhatarethechallengesofusingGTMinanactualresearchproject?Firstofall,GTMisa
timeconsuming methodology as it is based on an iterative design. Theoretical sampling
oneoftheconstitutiveelementsofGMTisacircularprocessthatrequirestheresearcherto
alternatebetweenthecollectionandtheanalysisofempiricaldata.Consequently,researchers
havetomakeconcessionswhendataiscollectedabroadiftimeand/orresourcesarelimited.
However,CorbinandStrauss,aswellasotherqualitativescholars,havedevelopedanumber
of useful tools that help researchers adapt the methodology to their needs. In response to
studentsquestions,Corbinhasemphasizedthattheoreticalsamplingcanalsobeappliedto
alreadyexistingdata.IntheBeloMontestudy,thesamplinganddatacollectionwerebased
ontheexpectedtheoreticalrelevance25oftheinterviews(Mey/Mruck2009:110).Thecom
prehensivedataproducedduringthefieldresearchandmydetailedknowledgeoftheinter
view contents allowed for subsequent theoretical sampling during the dataanalysis stage
thatresembledtheapproachproposedbyGTM.Interviewswereselectedoneafteranother
foranalysisbasedontheircontentandtheirexpectedcontributiontotheelaborationofthe
theoretical concepts at a particular point in the data analysis (cf. Corbin/Strauss 2008: 317).
Second,thecodingprocessandtheanalysisofdatademandopennessandpatienceonthe
partoftheresearcher,whoshouldbepreparedtoabandonherpreviousassumptionsifnec
essary.Whilethesearchfortheinternallogicoftheempiricalphenomenonmaycauseanxiety,
it also offers the chance to gain unexpected insights into the empirical phenomenon under
investigation.
Hence,itispreciselytheconstitutiveelementsofGTMthatimproveitsapplicability.The
criticalappraisalofonesownprocessthroughmemowritingandtheiterativeresearchde
signenablethescholartoreconsiderherproceduresandresults,andtomakethenecessary
adjustmentsthroughouttheresearchprocess.IntheBeloMontestudythesetoolsallowedfor
the modification of theoretical concepts based on empirical findings. In this sense, GTM is
particularly adequate for application in foreign countries and cultures, where conceptual
stretchinginthedevelopmentoftheoreticalconceptshastobeavoided.

25Theexpectedtheoreticalrelevancepertainstotheresearchinterestandthetheoreticalfocusoncollectiveiden
titiesandcollectiveactionframes.
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