Nneka St. Rose: "Reconciling storytelling in CGT. Reflections on the process of 'emergence' and.....

Presentation 6: 7/12/23

"Reconciling storytelling in CGT. Reflections on the process of 'emergence' and theory generation in a study of home-schooling in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T)"

Dr Nneka St. Rose, PhD alumna, ESJ programme. Chair, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, College of Science, Technology & Applied Arts of Trinidad & Tobago

Grounded Theory (GT) is an inherently emergent methodology. According to Charmaz (2008), it has served as a significant method for conducting emergent qualitative research for decades. Despite fundamental tenets of this approach, the paradigmatic and underlying epistemological and ontological differences between the traditions of GT lend itself to the varied constructions and approaches, and as such contested meanings of ‘emergence’ in research. Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) treats emergence as more than what the data in the field presents, but with a comprehensive rendering of all the conditions involved in research. As such, the emergent process recognises the researcher’s reflexivity, interactions and conditions as not exempt from the knowledge and data of the research. In CGT, the research site moves beyond a space to uncover and discover knowledge, to one that allows for the process and product of inquiry to be emergent as perspectives evolve and interactions occur. In this process, the researcher adopts innovative and creative approaches to define and depict emergence. Adding to the discourse on emergence, I utilise my own study of homeschooling in Trinidad and Tobago to reflect on the specificities of the conceptualisation and application of ‘emergence’ in a CGT study. I employ Charmaz’s (2020) concept of “methodological self-consciousness” to reflect on my own research journey and construction of emergence in a home-school study.