TY - JOUR

T1 - Computational grounded theory revisited

T2 - From computer-led to computer-assisted text analysis

AU - Carlsen, Hjalmar Alexander Bang

AU - Ralund, Snorre

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.

PY - 2022/1

Y1 - 2022/1

N2 - The size and variation in both meaning-making and populations that characterize much contemporary text data demand research processes that support both discovery, interpretation and measurement. We assess one dominant strategy within the social sciences that takes a computer-led approach to text analysis. The approach is coined computational grounded theory. This strategy, we argue, relies on a set of unwarranted assumptions, namely, that unsupervised models return natural clusters of meaning, that the researcher can understand text with limited immersion and that indirect validation is sufficient for ensuring unbiased and precise measurement. In response to this criticism, we develop a framework that is computer assisted. We argue that our reformulation of computational grounded theory better aligns with the principles within grounded theory, anthropological theory generation and ethnography.

AB - The size and variation in both meaning-making and populations that characterize much contemporary text data demand research processes that support both discovery, interpretation and measurement. We assess one dominant strategy within the social sciences that takes a computer-led approach to text analysis. The approach is coined computational grounded theory. This strategy, we argue, relies on a set of unwarranted assumptions, namely, that unsupervised models return natural clusters of meaning, that the researcher can understand text with limited immersion and that indirect validation is sufficient for ensuring unbiased and precise measurement. In response to this criticism, we develop a framework that is computer assisted. We argue that our reformulation of computational grounded theory better aligns with the principles within grounded theory, anthropological theory generation and ethnography.

KW - Computational text analysis

KW - digital social research

KW - grounded theory

KW - interpretation

KW - mixed methods

KW - Computational text analysis

KW - interpretation

KW - mixed methods

KW - grounded theory

KW - digital social research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126647555&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/20539517221080146

DO - 10.1177/20539517221080146

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85126647555

VL - 9

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - Big Data & Society

JF - Big Data & Society

SN - 2053-9517

IS - 1

ER -