This book is a handbook of sorts for the better understanding of social phenomena through a particular style of qualitative analysis of data (grounded theory). That mode of doing analysis is only one of many used in qualitative research. It is designed especially for generating and testing theory. Although its originators and principal users to date are sociologists, it has been found useful by social scientists from other disciplines, as well as researchers in education, public health, social work, and nursing – found useful because it is a general style of doing analysis that does not depend on particular disciplinary perspectives.

The purpose of this book is to instruct anyone who is interested in learning or improving his or her ability to do qualitative analysis of data. Traditionally, researchers learn such analysis by trial and error, or by working with more experienced people on research projects. Writings on qualitative method, qualitative research, ethnographic method, fieldwork, and interviewing are long on their discussions of data collection and research experiences and short on analysis – how to interpret the data (Miles 1983, pp. 125–6). How often one hears the cry of distress, “What do I do now with all those data I've collected?” Or from more experienced researchers, “I should have done much more with all those data – or at least done it faster.”

So in this handbook I have attempted to address the issues of how one does theoretically informed interpretations of materials, and does them efficiently and effectively.