A note on the coding techniques employed in the classical grounded theory: for Housing Studies students

A note on the coding techniques employed in the classical grounded theory: for Housing Studies students

 

Highlight the ideas of the primary coding phases on data analysis with regard to the classical grounded theory of Barney Glaser. Try to provide a few illustrative examples of these coding phases in the context of doing a housing studies dissertation work.

In Barney Glaser’s classical (Glaserian) grounded theory, data analysis has two main coding phases: substantive coding and theoretical coding. Substantive coding itself comprises open coding and selective coding; theoretical coding then relates the emerging categories into an explanatory theory.

Glaser’s coding phases

Phase	Main purpose	Key activities
Open coding	Remain open to all possible meanings in the data and generate initial concepts/categories.	Code data line-by-line or incident-by-incident; use participants’ own words where possible (in vivo codes); constantly compare incidents, codes, and categories.
Selective coding	Delimit the analysis around an emerging core category.	Focus on data and codes relevant to the core category; develop its properties and dimensions; use theoretical sampling to fill gaps until saturation.
Theoretical coding	Integrate categories into a conceptual theory.	Identify relationships among substantive categories—such as causes, contexts, strategies, and consequences—and develop an emerging explanatory account.

A key distinction is that Glaser does not use Strauss and Corbin’s separate “axial coding” stage in the same prescriptive way. In classical grounded theory, relationships among categories emerge through theoretical coding rather than being imposed through a fixed coding paradigm.

Housing studies examples

Suppose your dissertation asks: “How do lower-income households in Hong Kong manage the transition from private rental housing to public rental housing?”

1. Open coding

You read interview transcripts closely and assign initial conceptual labels without trying to force them into a pre-existing model.

Interview extract	Possible open code	Emerging concept/category
“We moved three times in two years because the rent kept rising.”	Frequent relocation	Housing insecurity
“The public flat is small, but at least we know the rent will not jump suddenly.”	Rent stability	Perceived housing security
“My daughter can finally have a quiet place to do homework.”	Improved study environment	Family well-being
“We had to wait nearly five years, but we kept renewing the application.”	Long waiting period	Institutional constraint
“I feel less ashamed now; before, relatives asked why we still rented.”	Reduced social stigma	Social identity and housing

At this stage, you are not yet claiming that “housing insecurity causes improved well-being.” You are simply identifying recurring concepts and comparing them across interviews. Open coding is deliberately open, allowing categories to emerge from the data rather than from prior assumptions.

2. Selective coding

After comparing many interviews, you may notice that “achieving housing stability” repeatedly organizes the other categories: insecurity, affordability, waiting time, family well-being, and social identity.

You would then focus analysis on data relevant to this emerging core category:

• Core category: Achieving housing stability
• Related categories: prolonged waiting, rent burden, residential mobility, family routine, psychological relief, social respectability
• Properties and dimensions: stability may vary from short-term relief to long-term security; it may be material (affordable rent) or psychological (reduced anxiety)

For example, one participant may describe public housing as “a small flat but a stable life,” while another may still experience instability because of overcrowding, poor estate facilities, or a long commute. Selective coding therefore helps you refine the core category and examine the conditions under which housing stability is or is not achieved.

3. Theoretical coding

Finally, you relate the categories to explain the process. A possible emerging theory could be:

Lower-income households pursue public rental housing as a strategy for achieving housing stability; prolonged waiting and affordability pressures shape this process, while successful allocation produces material security, improved family routines, and enhanced social identity.

This is more than a list of themes. It proposes relationships:

• Condition: high private-rent burden and residential instability
• Strategy: applying for, waiting for, and accepting public rental housing
• Consequence: greater material and psychological stability, but possibly new constraints such as estate location or space limitations
• Core process: achieving housing stability

Theoretical coding is the phase in which substantive categories are connected conceptually, allowing the researcher to move from description toward a grounded explanatory theory.

Practical implications for your dissertation

• Keep open coding broad at first; do not begin with a rigid framework such as “affordability, quality, location, and satisfaction.”
• Use constant comparison: compare each new interview, focus-group contribution, or policy document with earlier codes and categories.
• Let a core category emerge from repeated patterns, rather than selecting it merely because it is convenient.
• Use theoretical sampling to collect further data that can test, refine, or challenge the emerging theory—for example, interviewing households still on the waiting list, newly housed tenants, and long-term public-housing residents.
• Stop developing categories when additional data no longer generate substantially new insights, indicating theoretical saturation.

In short, Glaser’s approach moves from many open codes to a focused core category, and finally to a theoretically integrated explanation of the housing phenomenon under study.

 

Provide 2 academic references on this topic, in Harvard reference format.

Two appropriate Harvard-style references for Glaser’s classical grounded theory and its coding phases are:

·        Glaser, B.G. (1978) Theoretical sensitivity: advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.

·        Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company.

For your housing studies dissertation, Glaser (1978) is especially relevant because it explains substantive coding (open and selective coding) and theoretical coding, while Glaser and Strauss (1967) provides the foundational rationale for generating theory systematically from qualitative data.