ePortfolio Journal 1: Thinking About My Grounded Theory Project

The initial stage of MAIS 640: Grounded Theory, Exploration, and Beyond has me questioning the learning cartography that shapes our lives, especially after the first decade of adulthood during which we make most of our educational decisions for better or worse. In my grounded theory research project, I would like to explore the positionality of self-taught versus “graduated/degreed” and what it means to be schooled versus educated while also considering the critical citizenship learned through the study of subjects like the humanities at universities and the power of certificates to enhance degrees and knowledge. I am also curious if micro-credentials can make us “smarter” and how we define “smart” in our society. Alongside the development of ideas for my project, am I having fun yet? The aspect of essay writing I enjoy most is when my research is coming together, and I have a better idea of the direction in which I am heading. The grounded theory process has been delaying this feel-good moment while I learn how to conduct grounded theory. I am writing this journal as a form of anticipation toward an aha moment.

Initially, I thought I would code Ted Talks on online education with a specific interest in computer programming as a STEM area of study. As I delved further into the course, I realized that I must study a social process and/or a social psychological process (Charmaz, 2014, p. 34) and that this would be difficult if I did not use social media. I started reading some posts on Reddit. There were some interesting discussions about finding well-being as a computer programmer and the link between pursuing a career in that field and being neuro-atypical such as having ADHD. I decided I would be better off focusing on micro-credentials since that topic is more relevant to my educational background and work experience. Still, I gravitated towards seeing the world as data rather than using social media. Resisting change, I read part of an e-book by the founder of Khan Academy, and I watched YouTube videos, read online articles, and looked at websites about micro-credentials. Then, I spoke with Professor Wilde, who reminded me that I can go on social media anonymously and, in the absence of conducting interviews, social media would be essential for the type of research I was leaning towards. Professor Wilde’s advice is echoed by Charmaz (2014) when she recommends to “choose data collection methods that help you answer your research questions with ingenuity and incisiveness” (p.26). Social media will be the most efficient and insightful way for me to collect data for my project.

With my research interests and questions shaping my choice of methods (Charmaz, 2014, p. 27), I began reading a little nervously on Twitter and found an interesting stream about college education which mentioned micro-credentials and other issues around higher education such as elitism. Many of the posts were by people with PhDs and/or who work professionally in the field of higher education. I started to come to terms with learning from social media and enjoying the process without worrying about having to be an active and visible participant. Also, I saw that the posts were of a high calibre and by people who could be giving the Ted Talks that I had watched a lot of during the first few weeks of the course. I realized I may have been avoiding social media for the wrong reasons.

The Unit 3 Study Guide suggests that grounded theory researchers “think of existing ideas within the field and our own previous experience as sensitizing concepts” (Athabasca University). Charmaz (2014) further states that “sensitizing concepts give researchers initial but tentative ideas to pursue and questions to raise about their topics” (p. 30). It will help me to employ some of the basic sensitizing concepts suggested by the guide such as power/powerlessness, haves/have-nots, and individual/society. These sensitizing concepts can guide my research as I begin to theorize while acknowledging the subjectivity of my experience.

According to the constructivist approach, it is essential to consider our positionality as a researcher when conducting research and to recognize that research “occurs under specific conditions – of which we may not be aware and which may not be of our choosing” (Charmaz, 2014, p. 13). I will research with the acknowledgment of my experience in the fields of community services, settlement, and language training as a teacher and coordinator, as well as in employment training as a coordinator and host. After high school, I pursued the performing arts for a few brief years while working in hospitality jobs. I am interested in micro-credentials because, as formerly a non-university or college graduate, if I had been able to finish a micro-credential quickly and get into the workforce in a field other than hospitality, I may have had more of a chance to be an active participant in the forces driving our modern economies such as business, science, and technology.

In thinking of future employment and personal goals, the use of grounded theory can help me develop a stronger identity as a researcher and scholar producing meaningful research in areas that bridge the personal, professional, and academic, and that I am passionate about.  According to Mills (1959), “scholarship is a choice of how to live as well as a choice of career” (pp. 195-196, in Stebbins, 2001, p. 52). I can surely adopt Stebbins’s (2001) suggestion to think of myself as an explorer. In my case, I will continue to follow the road less travelled I started on and consider positive options for those on such roads so that more people can follow the road after me, and the voyage will be smoother and richer in experience with an enhanced capacity for self-determination.

Symbolic interactionism, as mentioned by Charmaz (2014), is a concept I can relate to in my daily life and work. Charmaz defines symbolic interactionism as “a theoretical perspective that assumes society, reality, and self are constructed through interaction and thus rely on language and communication” (p. 9). This mention of symbolic interactionism brings me back to my enjoyment of language and stories, a connection that propels me through my work as a teacher and language coordinator. Recently, I have moved towards thinking of language as communication during my work week and then more as storytelling in my life outside of work. Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) focuses on practical language skills for newcomers to Canada that will help them accomplish real-world tasks. In my experience, the average person is more interested in accomplishing real-world tasks than debating recent events and staying current with the latest book or movie. Yet, in my spare time, I am working on my French language skills and enjoying the content as much as any improvements in my language ability - so I continue a pendulum as to my relationship to language.

Considering the skills needed to conduct grounded theory, Charmaz (2014) underscores the difference between generating a theory and verifying a theory. As a method, from the beginning, grounded theory questioned the prevailing emphasis on verification by relying on induction instead of deduction. The theory interests me in how it involves fitting and working so that data become pieces of a puzzle that reveal layers of meaning. The researcher does not know which puzzle they are trying to solve until later in their research. According to Charmaz (2014), qualitative researchers “can add new pieces to the research puzzle or conjure entire new puzzles while we gather data, and that can even occur late in the analysis. The flexibility of qualitative research permits you to follow leads that emerge” (p.25). Just like the Choose Your Own Adventure books for young people I enjoyed years ago, there can be many alternate endings to the grounded theory research process, but the data is also signalling that some of those endings would not be the best or most realistic. The airplane must land on a certain runway – the one with the lights on.

I like the idea of linking grounded theory to critical theories like Freire’s critical consciousness. It is only by joining forces with those who are suffering from oppression that we can use the power that we do have for positive change. While our positionality may lack certain advantages, we can still advocate, and, in being strong enough to do so and finding the words to do it, we also have power. I am reminded of the quote from Martin Luther King: “It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.” A recognition of all that is lost due to barriers in education comes with a personal feeling of regret that I could not do more to lead by example in my own life. This research project could become a source of positive power for me to think of future avenues of exploration.

I am inspired by Chamaz’s (2014) notion that “our codes arise from the languages, meanings, and perspectives through which we learn about the empirical world, particularly those of our research participants as well as our own. Coding impels us to make our participants’ language problematic to render an analysis of it” (p. 114). Coding requires initial speed and agility to capture the essence of the data. Then, codes may be reworded to fit the data and the phenomena that is revealing itself (Charmaz, 2014, p. 118). As I code my data, tensions within the social processes of higher education and micro-credentials should become clear to me – “between analytic insights and described events, [] between static topics and dynamic processes, and between participants’ worlds and professionals’ meanings” (p. 115). I will be acting on my data and coding “data as actions” (p. 116). However, my focus will be on making my codes fit the data rather than vice versa (p. 120).

With regards to coding and positionality, I do not foresee a danger of importing “an alien professional language to describe the phenomenon” (Charmaz, 2014, p. 121) because I have an insider’s perspective of the education system and its barriers. For that reason, I will not take the data at face value, but, instead, I will think about the potential positions of the interlocutors and consider my bias when I read posts by individuals who think differently than I do; for example, posts that state that the curriculum itself is the problem and that all the focus should be on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) rather than on subjects like the humanities.

I am curious about discovering in vivo codes on social media. So far, I have considered phrases such as “gaming academia” and “Experience is king.” Perhaps I will find that certain commentators are using parallel expressions to describe the same phenomena. When needed, I will code my codes to try to find a “larger analytic story” (Charmaz, 2014, p. 127). Through focused coding, I will discover the codes that are relevant to my developing theory and final analysis and discard those that are irrelevant (p. 144). Memo writing will be key in turning coding into an analysis of micro-credentials.

The focus of memo writing is making “comparisons between data and data, data and codes, codes and codes, codes and categories, categories and categories” (Charmaz, 2014, p. 171). The purpose of writing memos is to support the researcher’s process and analysis and not for outside readers to review (p. 181). When it becomes time to write up the research, some memos may become part of the content whereas others will simply become lampposts on the road to uncovering a grounded theory (p. 181). I anticipate finding the process of writing memos and then returning to read them to be revelatory and motivating as my notes help me see a larger social reality leading to the strengthening of my codes and categories.

A study of micro-credentials can lead to a conversation about the value of community colleges and online learning opportunities such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as well as workforce development programs. My grounded theory project will enhance my knowledge of training options for the clients I serve while liberating me from past regrets of an educational system that can be rigid and unforgiving. I hope to come out of the journey with insight into the future of education and the social and psychological dynamics in education that are as relevant today as in the past.

References

Athabasca University. (2021). Unit 3 Study Guide. MAIS 640 Grounded Theory, Exploration, and Beyond (Rev. C4).

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory, 2^nd edition. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Exploratory research in the social sciences. Sage Publications, Inc.