I am looking to conduct a qualitative study on the role of women's self esteem whilst they're at work. I know your research question should guide your design but I am struggling to choose which qualitative design to go for. I have researched qualitative research into the relationship of self esteem with other experiences and they seem to differ in design. T/A
Phenomenology typically involves a very intense analysis of a relatively small number of cases, which lends itself to the study of highly meaningful aspects of lived experience. Both it and grounded theory tend to be highly exploratory, so if you have already done research in this area and have specific topics that you want to pursue, either of them could be inefficient for that purpose.
Instead, I think you should consider a simpler approach that begins with open-ended interviews and then uses thematic analysis. Is there some reason why you are limiting yourself to either phenomenology or grounded theory?
The guidance / discussions as per the following publications / link may further help, namely: Comparison of grounded theory and phenomenology (Reiter et al, 2011, p. 40) / Distinguishing between grounded theory and phenomenology (Baker et al, 1992, pp. 1355-1357), etc.
- Baker, C., Wuest, J. and Stern, P. N. (1992) Method slurring: the grounded theory/phenomenology example, Journal of advanced nursing, 17, 11, pp. 1355-1360.
- Gelling, L. (2011) What is the difference between grounded theory and phenomenology?, Nursing Times, 107, pp. 4.
- Reiter, S., Stewart, G. and Bruce, C. S. (2011) A strategy for delayed research method selection: Deciding between grounded theory and phenomenology, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 9, 1, pp. 35-46.
- Wimpenny, P. and Gass, J. (2000) Interviewing in phenomenology and grounded theory: is there a difference?, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 31, 6, pp. 1485-1492.
- Which is more appropriate, phenomenology or grounded theory?: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Which_is_more_appropriate_phenomenology_or_grounded_theory
Just to share a bit on my experience. When I was doing my PhD, I was in the doubt too - whether to use phenomenology or a case study (not grounded theory though). Somehow, I ended up with explorative qualitative design with multiple methods, interviews (both individual and focus group) and classroom observation to look at teachers 'perspectives on their professional development and inclusive education' - which is much simpler but more open. Phenomenology will be more on a phenomena, and, in my case: teachers' consciousness and their experiences regarding the subject matter. Thanks.