Grounded Theory and Social Media: Are Methodological Practices Hard, Medium or Light?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.47(2025).5950Keywords:
social media, grounded theory, method, criteria, qualitative researchAbstract
Given the growing influence of social media platforms, it is essential to establish a research framework that incorporates a qualitative approach and leverages grounded theory (GT) to understand the phenomena associated with social media data and content. This study aimed to classify the use of GT in research involving social media during the investigation process. Through a systematic review based on the method’s main approaches, the application of GT procedures was analyzed in 22 articles addressing social media-related content. These studies were classified as “hard”, “medium”, or “light”, based on the methodological level of detail. The analyses demonstrated that nine articles used GT procedures in hard form, another nine used a medium approach, and four applied the method in a light manner. GT is most commonly used as a data analysis tool rather than for theory development. In some cases, authors provided only partial methodological details, and at times, descriptions were unclear, potentially compromising the transparency and rigor of qualitative research. This study encourages researchers to reflect on the GT process and promotes the method’s application in social media research by discussing processes and needs. It also informs researchers about the challenges of applying GT in social media-related research. By providing a robust alternative framework for criteria analysis, it seeks to support the development of new substantive or formal theories and systematic data coding, fostering future studies that contribute to the dissemination of GT as a method. The application of GT to social media data remains an underexplored field with significant potential for further investigation.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Erlaine Binotto, Lidiane Parron Gonçalves, Fernanda Évilin de Jesus Fortunato Lima, Noellen Silva Amorim Feuser, Maricel Karina Lopez Torres, Victor Fraile Sordi, Camila Magalhães da Cunha, Paulo Cristiano de Oliveira
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