Monday, January 25, 2010

To D or not to D

I am feeling uncertain about a possible core category which I am calling, "D". I feel uncertain about this core category not because the data does not point towards it, but no other scholar in the field has called it that.

But everything in my data says: "D is it!"

In fact, when I talked to a respondent yesterday, he too, said "D? That's EXACTLY it."

So, why do I feel so nervous about this core category?

Because I may very well be leading a new movement in the field. And I have a feeling that other scholars in the field will attack me for it -- because they are so attached to the established perspectives, particularly, they like to call the phenomenon "S." Twenty-over years of research calling something "S," and with grounded theory emergence, I am seeing "D" instead. Dare I challenge the field with a new movement? Do I really know what I am talking about? Aren't I just a small, little doctoral student?

What I need to do now is to do more theoretical sampling and test out potential core category "D." See if I get more similar responses than the one I got yesterday.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi LD,

Remember when they said that the earth was flat and nobody would dare to challenge the "fact'. As a result no one was brave enough to explore further. May be in reality, "D" could be the "new frontier" and "S" is just an old belief.

Good luck to you, LD.

Peggy said...

Go with D - you are a successful business man, a trained therapist and teacher, a stellar listener, and a researcher with intensive training and deep critical thinking skills. You HAVE credibility and the world breathlessly waits for the offering that is uniquely yours!!

Lonely Dissertator-No-More said...

Thanks for your encouragement, Pak Ngan and Peggy.