Barney Glaser, of Grounded Theory/ Classical Grounded Theory fame, died on 30th January 2022. For many people who read this blog, and for many of my counselling clients, his name will not mean very much. However, Glaser’s work has provided the bedrock for my grounded counselling, coaching and research work and how I approach daily life problems. 

Glaser was the co-discoverer (with Anselm Strauss) of an advanced research method called ‘Grounded Theory’. Grounded Theory is a deceptively simple research method that turns the ‘normal’ research process on its head. Most research methods begin with a hypothesis; Grounded Theory ends with a hypothesis, which is left to others to test. Glaser felt that developing a hypothesis was the most exciting bit of research; I have to say I agree with him. 

I have called my approach to counselling ‘Grounded Counselling” to recognise the part Grounded Theory has played in developing my practice. The grounded approach means letting go of our preconceptions (our ideas/beliefs/biases/ prejudices) about something and being open to discovering what is happening. 

Glaser was generous with his time, providing support for novice researchers. He had self-published books on the Grounded Theory process, and I had to contact him to get hold of a couple of them. When I opened the package, I found a small handwritten note saying I might need some more books; Glaser thought I had missed several books off the list, so he sent them anyway. 

Stories abound among the Grounded Theory community of his help to novice researchers. He felt it was his responsibility to help because so many PhD supervisors misunderstand the method. But this misunderstanding means that students (and future supervisors) do not understand or use the method correctly. You can see what happens; the errors and misunderstandings get passed down to the next generation of students and the next… And he was right. 

May he rest in peace. 

A good obituary has been written in the Social Science Space. It must be good because they refer to my thesis. 

I posted this originally elsewhere back in 2022.