The grounded theory method and case study data in IS research: issues and design - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 59

Furthermore, research that focuses on actors' perspectives provides actors with oppor-
tunities to articulate their thoughts about issues they consider important (Glaser, 1998).
This articulation allows participants to reflect on empirically significant events (to them),
gaining further understanding of past actions and acquiring new insights. 11
I experienced a high level of participant cooperation while conducting my grounded
theory study. This can be partly attributed to the open nature of the interviews, the
focus on experiences as perceived by the actors , the method forcing me to act as a very
active listener, and my being perceived as an 'insider' to whom the accounts did not
require too much 'proper lining'. 12
Consequently, I was intellectually stimulated by interacting with rich data, by the par-
ticipants' positive attitude towards the research, and by a sense of contributing to a
wider audience. This positive feedback helped to counteract the heavy demands
grounded theory poses on researchers, as previously described. These demands are real;
they should not be underestimated by those contemplating the adoption of the grounded
theory method. But when these demands and risks are satisfactorily addressed, grounded
theory offers a very strong methodological foundation for IS researchers wanting to
engage in theory-building studies of emerging socio-technical phenomena.

11

Incidents in which actors called me to 'run a few ideas through you' are evidence of this perception of value. They wanted
to articulate their thoughts, and even when I kept a passive role in the conversation, only asking questions to clarify the
problem, they felt that the conversation helped them.
12

'Proper lining' is a term used by Glaser to describe the distortion often found when actors present aspects of their world
(e.g. own person, group, organisation) to an outsider; this is caused by the actors' perception of what constitutes a 'proper
view' of their world. Proper lining is a useful concept; when detected, it may tell us of an actors' perception (and importance
of this perception) regarding how the external world should be looking into their context.