I'm back baby!

[ryoder]

Hey guys long time no post.
Tomorrow I resume my PhD Business Administration, Applied Computer Science at NCU.
I'll keep you up to date on my progress and any troubles.  For those of you who are FB friends I deactivated that account to focus on the degree.  
I completed 33 credits and have 27 left to go.
Tomorrow I begin Qualitiative Research Methods, an 8 week course.  Self paced.
After that is Stats II, then Quantitative Methods, then Dissertation Planning, Comprehensive Exam, and four Dissertation courses. 
Wish me luck.  I'll need it.

[cookderosa]

Hey guys long time no post.
Tomorrow I resume my PhD Business Administration, Applied Computer Science at NCU.
I'll keep you up to date on my progress and any troubles.  For those of you who are FB friends I deactivated that account to focus on the degree.  
I completed 33 credits and have 27 left to go.
Tomorrow I begin Qualitiative Research Methods, an 8 week course.  Self paced.
After that is Stats II, then Quantitative Methods, then Dissertation Planning, Comprehensive Exam, and four Dissertation courses. 
Wish me luck.  I'll need it.

Good to see you Ryan! I'll wish you luck, but you won't need it

[Ideas]

You can do it

[rebel100]

Welcome back!

[rlw74]

I love seeing status updates from those who have gone beyond the first degree or two. Good luck and keep us posted!

[ryoder]

Things are going well.
I got an A in qualitative research design and learned a lot. I think I’ll,do a grounded theory study for my dissertation based on my experience in this course.
I’m in statistics two now with an A. Stats is not my cup of tea though. More updates to come.

[Sagan]

Things are going well.
I got an A in qualitative research design and learned a lot. I think I’ll,do a grounded theory study for my dissertation based on my experience in this course.
I’m in statistics two now with an A. Stats is not my cup of tea though.  More updates to come.

Doing grounded theory for a doctoral dissertation is extremely difficult. You might find getting your dissertation proposal approved to be arduous or even impossible.

The dissertation process is heavily supervised and predictable. The student proposes the research area, demonstrating (through the introduction) that the topic is academic, then (through the literature review) that it is new and worthy, and then (through the research methods chapter) that it can be researched (and how). This is where you might trip up.

Most doctoral dissertations take a deductive approach. You lay your your theoretical construct, (based on your literature review), present your hypotheses (what you predict your research will reveal), then apply your research to test them. Supported hypotheses indicate your theory holds water; rejected hypotheses refute your theory (still a valuable finding). In other words, you go from theory to data that tests the theory.

Grounded theory is an inductive process. You gather data on the studied phenomenon, building the theory as it emerges from the data you gather. That, in turn, tells the researcher what other data is needed and he/she goes and gets it. This process continues until a grounded theory emerges. ("Grounded" means that it is grounded in the data.) Grounded theory is messy, unpredictable, time-consuming, and unreliable. All the things doctoral committees hate--because any of them can derail you and keep you from finishing.

As a novice researcher trying to pull off his/her first significant research project, doing a traditional, deductive dissertation is strongly advisable. Find a niche, show that it is real, propose a test, do it, report the results and their meaning. Save grounded theory (and other inductive methods) for the outer fringes of your academic field...and for after you've earned your degree.

For grounded theory i highly recommend Kathy Charmaz. For a more general review of research methods, please read John Cresswell. For a thorough review of qualitative and quantitative methods, also consider Michael Q. Patton.

Good luck!