Outline the basic steps of grounded theory coding in order.

Outline the basic steps of grounded theory coding in order.

• A. Open coding, axial coding, memoing, selective coding, and theory development.
• B. Open coding, memoing, axial coding, selective coding, theory development.
• C. Open coding, axial coding, selective coding, memoing, theory development.
• D. Open coding, axial coding, selective coding, theory development, memoing.

Answer: (C)

Grounded theory coding moves from breaking the data into meaningful pieces to linking those pieces and then building a cohesive explanation that fits the data. Start by open coding, where you verbatim label small chunks of data to capture their meanings. This creates a broad set of concepts from which patterns can emerge. Then axial coding shifts you to look at how these concepts relate, organizing them around core conditions, contexts, interactions, and consequences to map the structure of the data. After that, selective coding focuses the analysis on the central phenomenon and how other categories cohere around it, producing a more integrated story of what the data reveal. At this point, memoing becomes the tool to capture analytic thoughts, comparisons, and refinements about how the categories fit together and what that implies. These memos guide the final stage, theory development, where you articulate a grounded theory that explains the data and remains grounded in the observed evidence. The sequence allows the insights from coding and categorization to be recorded and refined before attempting to construct the theory, making the final theory more coherent and well-supported.

Grounded theory coding moves from breaking the data into meaningful pieces to linking those pieces and then building a cohesive explanation that fits the data. Start by open coding, where you verbatim label small chunks of data to capture their meanings. This creates a broad set of concepts from which patterns can emerge. Then axial coding shifts you to look at how these concepts relate, organizing them around core conditions, contexts, interactions, and consequences to map the structure of the data. After that, selective coding focuses the analysis on the central phenomenon and how other categories cohere around it, producing a more integrated story of what the data reveal. At this point, memoing becomes the tool to capture analytic thoughts, comparisons, and refinements about how the categories fit together and what that implies. These memos guide the final stage, theory development, where you articulate a grounded theory that explains the data and remains grounded in the observed evidence. The sequence allows the insights from coding and categorization to be recorded and refined before attempting to construct the theory, making the final theory more coherent and well-supported.