ABSTRACT
Since its origins in 1967, grounded theory method (GTM) has gained a following in nursing and now holds a well-established place in the toolkit of nursing researchers. Since Benoliel completed the first nursing grounded theory dissertation on the Social Consequences of Chronic Disease in Adolescence in 1969, GTM has become the most popular qualitative research methodology among nursing doctoral students, with 938 grounded theories currently listed in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. This is more than double the number identified as using phenomenology (380), nearly eight times those identified as using hermeneutics (124), and four times the number identified as using ethnography (63). The second most popular qualitative methodology identified was “qualitative research” (538). Admittedly, ProQuest is largely limited to dissertations from the US, but grounded theory seems to have earned its rightful place in nursing research.
