Grounded Theory and Serendipity. Natural history of a Research

Krzysztof Tomasz Konecki

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.4.1.09

Authors

Krzysztof Tomasz Konecki Lodz University, Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.4.1.09

Keywords:

Grounded theory, Serendipity, Qualitative sociology, Field research, Natural history of research, Sociology of interaction, Social world, Human-animals – non-human animals interactions, Anthropomorphization of animals

Abstract

The paper deals with the issue of “serendipity” (which constitutes the context of discovery) in field research and the analysis of data by using the grounded theory methodology. The thesis of the paper is: the methodology of grounded theory is naturally associated with serendipity. We describe two aspects of serendipity in grounded theory: 1. substantive, and 2. theoretical. We present in the paper serendipity phenomenon by using the case of research on the “social world of pet owners”. We show how the research is developed by a sequence of decisions being made by researchers. The process of emergence of the main analytical category, subcategories and the whole theoretical construction during the long time of the field research and theoretical group analysis is presented, as well as the procedure of coming to unanticipated theoretical conclusions. It was all possible because of the interactional character of serendipity happening during the research in grounded theory style of investigation.

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Author Biography

Krzysztof Tomasz Konecki, Lodz University, Poland

Krzysztof T. Konecki is a Professor of Sociology, chair of Organizational and Management Sociology Department, Lodz University, Poland, Vice - President of Qualitative Research Network of European Sociological Association. His major research areas are: qualitative sociology, grounded theory, symbolic interactionism, visual sociology, sociology of management and organization, sociology of work, organizational symbolism, Japanese culture and management, human-non-human-animals relationships.

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