Grounded Theory, Sensitizing Concepts, and Computer-Assisted Theory Building, di Roberto Cipriani

The classical approach in sociology concerns the use of hypotheses and hypothesis testing processes to determine what, if any, effects can be attributed to particular factors in the field being studied. But other scholars suggest another procedure which eliminates the presence of previous hypotheses and privileges an interpretive – as opposed to a hypothetic-deductive – approach to data analysis. However, in the latter approach crucial questions appear for the researcher: how does one approach the data and data analyses to ensure the credibility of findings? Blumer’s suggestion about «sensitizing concepts» seems to be appropriate in order to reach not only a reliable interpretation of data but also the possibility of «building theory». This process could be supported by computer-assisted research, namely using NVivo as dedicated software for qualitative analysis. However, not all kind of operations can be performed by the computer, no matter how appealing the market offering may be. Every single passage has to be monitored, and nothing can be taken for granted.