| dc.description.abstract | Grounded Theory (GT) is becoming an increasingly prevalent research methodology in many fields.
Although researchers use it in qualitative and quantitative studies, it is more popular with qualitative
studies, as evidenced by the citations from previous research. This paper aims to document and present
how we used GT in our qualitative research to construct an e-learning theory for interaction and
collaboration. It also includes the justification of GT. We adopted and adapted the constructivist GT
(CGT). Therefore, this paper discusses the CGT methodology, its philosophical, ontological and
epistemological perspectives. It also includes the research design that captures how we sampled the
participants, collected, analyzed and interpreted the data, and how we documented the research findings
in the context of CGT. It also includes the justification of the decisions we made and the extent to which
they align with CGT. Using CGT, we listened to, observed and captured e-learners’ and e-tutors’ stories and
experiences which yielded rich and insightful data that informed the development of the e-learning theory
for interaction and collaboration. We also present the challenges we experienced when using CGT and the
strategies we used to overcome them. Finally, we have included the methodological insights we drew
from using CGT in our research. This paper has presented the CGT design strategy; thus, it will be helpful,
especially to novice and future researchers aspiring to use the methodology to conduct their research. | en_US |
