Trustworthiness of Grounded Theory Methodology Research in Information Systems

Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) is being used increasingly in the Information Systems (IS) discipline. However, some consumers of IS literature are skeptical of the findings in studies using this method. In this paper, we provide some steps that can be taken by researchers to improve the credibility of their work. This can be accomplished through increased trustworthiness of their research. The quality of quantitative research can be evaluated by examining the internal validity, external validity, reliability; similarly the trustworthiness of GTM studies can be evaluated by examining the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the study. We provide specific steps that can be taken to accomplish trustworthiness of GTM research and from IS literature; we summarize some of the GTM research that has applied these steps.