I am currently writing my dissertation and I still find that the distinction between and among the terms is a little too ambiguous. I find myself using the word theme to refer to group of concepts/highest level code that makes up the parts of my theory. I am unsure if this is accurate.
Also, I have developed a concept diagram and unsure whether to call this theory or concept model?
Expert help is greatly appreciated.
Hi Harry. Ambiguity is both a strength and a weakness in language. "Theme' is used for a wide range of notions (I was going to say 'concepts' but that too would be confusing) from big picture areas of research: such as media, gender, sexuality etc.: to concepts or ideas emerging from research: such as media, gender, sexuality etc. In GT, themes emerging from the data are also called concepts by some and others argue that 'concepts' refer to sensitizing concepts that one uses to start thinking about the data (Bowen 2006). There are some quite neat definitions in Wikipedia. There is also quite a good article comparing the literature by Cho & Lee (2014) http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR19/cho64.pdf.
It can all get confusing. I suggest you find someone whose use of the terms makes sense to you, then define your terms in your dissertation and use the terms consistently.
Good question, I also have developed a model by using several variables but not sure if it is valid for a dissertation to present it ...it looks to me as a conceptual model but still not sure about relationships between variables... However my thesis is an assessment of a policy or program implemented in my country...
I am not aware of any version of GT that uses either concepts or models as key terminology. Instead of models, you are likely to find theories. Instead of concepts, you are likely to find categories -- which can be confusing because other approaches to theory building use categories as merely as a basis for organizing codes.
I suggest you pick a particular version of GT to guide your work (e.g., Charmaz, Corbin & Strauss, Glaser, etc.) and then follow the terminology used there.
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