theory-integration

# Theory Integration in Grounded Theory Integration means your categories **hang together** as an explanatory whole: readers can see **what is going on**, **how it is handled**, **under what conditions**, and **with what results**. Integration is earned through memoing, sorting, and theoretical coding—not through imposing a prefabricated model. ## What integration means in GT You move from a list of themes to a **substantive theory** with plausible relationships among categories. The **core category** should organize the story without flattening complexity. ## Using theoretical codes to connect categories Glaser’s **coding families** (e.g., causes, contexts, strategies, consequences, stages) help you ask relationship questions: - Is this category a **strategy** participants use when a **condition** holds? - Is it a **consequence** of another pattern? - Does it represent a **stage** in an evolving process? Apply families as **heuristic prompts**, not a mandatory checklist. ## Writing theoretical propositions Write concise statements of relationship: - “When X intensifies under condition Y, participants shift to strategy Z, which reduces A but increases B.” Each proposition should be supportable with **multiple incidents** and resilient against known negative cases—or qualified where exceptions persist. ## Developing a storyline A GT storyline typically includes: - **Main concern** (what participants continually address). - **Core category** (what processes that concern). - **Key strategies/categories** linked to conditions and outcomes. Draft the story in **plain language** first; refine concepts second. ## Memo sorting as integration technique Print or list memos; sort into piles that represent **sections of the theory**. Rename piles until the outline matches the data. CAQDAS “maps” can substitute if they mirror the same discipline. ## Visual models Create diagrams only after relational claims stabilize enough to be falsified by comparison. Iterate visuals alongside prose (see `visual-modeling`). ## Checking for gaps Ask: - Where is the mechanism underspecified? - Which conditions are missing? - Do I only explain success, not failure? - What would a skeptic say is hand-wavy? Return to theoretical sampling if gaps are empirical. ## Evaluating coherence Coherent integration: - Uses a stable vocabulary of categories. - Explains variation, not only central tendency. - Connects micro interactions to meso patterns where data allow. ## Writing integration for publication Open with the core story; present a **model** or **proposition set**; support with excerpts; discuss limits and modifiability. ## Checklist - [ ] Core category justified by centrality and recurrence. - [ ] Theoretical coding clarifies relationships, not just labels. - [ ] Propositions stated and evidenced. - [ ] Memo sort yields a defensible outline. - [ ] Gaps identified; sampling/analysis plan updated if needed. ## References (starting points) - Glaser, B. G. *Theoretical Sensitivity* — coding families and integration. - Glaser, B. G. *Doing Grounded Theory* — delimiting and theoretical completeness. - Holton, J. A. *The coding process and its challenges* (in Holton & Walsh, Classic GT).