FOUNDATIONS FOR RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

FOUNDATIONS FOR RESEARCH - Essay Example To amend this gap in knowledge about mood disorders in adolescents, it has been claimed that theoretical perspectives should develop from adolescents’ understanding and experiences (Griez 2005: 47). If not, the theorising process will continue to be removed from the perspectives of individuals who have really experienced mood disorders (Wolfe & Mash 2008: 83). The objective of the aforementioned study was to generate a theoretical perspective that essentially represented the perceptions of adolescents who had experienced mood disorders. Lewis (1995:372) investigated, employing qualitative methods, how participants personally experienced mood disorders, how they reached and perceived the label of mood disorder, and how they understood their experiences. In addition, Karp (1996: 91), in Speaking of Sadness, explained the identity-changing process that participants experienced as they eventually viewed themselves as depressed and carried on theorising about their own selves and h ow they acquired their mood disorders. In this paper, a thorough discussion on the different features of the grounded theory method will be provided by presenting an original research article, Meadus’s (2007) study, which contains the grounded theory method. The Application of Grounded Theory in Mood Disorder Research The grounded theory method, according to Straus & Corbin (1990), the goal of which is to form a theory that is closely related to the reality of the adolescents studied was used in the study of Meadus (2007). Through the grounded theory method, theory arises from evaluating the actual statements given by the participants, and is hence genuinely ‘grounded’ in them (Strauss & Corbin 1990: 17). However, the problem in using an inductive research method for mood disorder research, according to Griez (2005: 72), is that it inevitably results in analyses that go beyond the statements given by the participants. Stiles (1993) suggests that participants give relevant information to the researcher, but that the researcher should analyse that data to form a reflective theory. Meanwhile, reflexivity obliges the researcher to thoroughly think about the research process, which involves probing how strongly the interpretations of the researcher fit with the perspectives of the participants (Rennie, Phillips, & Quartaro 1988: 143). The grounded theory method was employed in the study of Meadus (2007) because it allowed a methodical analysis that enabled the creation of a theoretical perspective that was strongly connected to, otherwise ideally representative of, the explanations of the participants. According to Merriam (2009: 30), data analysis in grounded theory is performed using the constant-comparative method in which bits and pieces of data are compared in terms of their similarities and differences. Merriam (2009: 31-32) furthers that part of the data analysis is the identification of a core category. The core category is the central c oncept where all data revolves around and this is used to develop the substantive theory. Emphasis is given on the importance of identifying categories, hypotheses, and theories from the patterns seen among the relationships formed from the data gathered. To better understand the features of a grounded theory, the research of