Theoretical sensitivity refers to our ability to examine our underlying assumptions of the area we’re researching, and the things we’ve read, absorbed and use in everyday thought. By enhancing our theoretical sensitivity we acknowledge that as researchers we are the sum of our knowledge and experiences and seeks to account for this knowledge and experiences throughout the research process. We also become conscious of what we don’t know.
Theoretical sensitivity is important to theory development because it facilitates insights into what is meaningful or significant; it helps us to recognise and extract from the data elements that have relevance for the emerging theory and to fully develop the properties and dimensions of categories and sub-categories.
Our theoretical sensitivity can be raised by memoing, the process of recording thoughts, feelings, decisions, ideas, processes and analytical insights as they emerge during the data collection, coding, analysis process, and during memoing itself. As we develop our theoretical sensitivity we become better equipped to answer the question “What is happening in the data?”.
Our theoretical sensitivity increases throughout a project and enhances our ability to understanding and defining phenomena in abstract terms and demonstrate abstraction relationships between phenomena, resulting in a more integrated and abstract grounded theory.
References
Birks, M., & Mills, J. (2015). Grounded theory: a practical guide (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Bryant, A., & Charmaz, K. (2007). The SAGE handbook of grounded theory. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine.
If you found The Grounded Theorist useful, and would like to ensure its continued availability, please consider making a one-off donation or becoming a sustaining member. Thank you.