Constant comparative analysis

Carroll, Clare, Harding, Deborah, & Wells, Robert. (2022). Constant comparative analysis. In Rena Lyons, Lindy McAllister, Clare Carroll, Deborah Hersh, & Jemma Skeat (Eds.), Diving deep into qualitative data analysis in communication disorders research. Havant, England: J&R Press.

Abstract

Constant comparative analysis (CCA), also known as the constant comparative method, is an inductive coding process used as a data analysis technique in qualitative research (Onwuegbuzie, Leech, & Collins, 2012). Glaser and Strauss (1967) first introduced the concept of CCA within the coding process of grounded theory (GT), positioning it as a very specific approach to analyzing data. Holton and Walsh (2017, p. 78) state that CCA is a “foundational pillar of classic GT”. Urquhart (2013) differentiates between the use of GT as a methodology (where the aim is theory building) and the use of GT methods, which include CCA. Palmberger and Gingrich (2013) state that although no single method nor theory of qualitative comparison exists there are several approaches. They argue that comparison in qualitative analysis “aims to achieve abstraction by doing justice to the context in which the different cases are embedded” (Palmberger & Gingrich, 2013, p. 95). In ethnography, comparison “is constructed by the ethnographer, based on her research questions and working hypotheses” (Buscatto, 2017, p. 336).

Publisher

J&R Press

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CC BY-NC-ND

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Speech and Language Therapy (Book Chapters)