A Front-Row Seat to the Development of Grounded Theory An Interview with Odis Simmons

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Published: Jun 28, 2025
Keywords:
grounded theory, Barney Glaser, Anselm Strauss, history, substantive grounded theory

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Kara L. Vander Linden
Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3699-708X
Odis Simmons
Glaser Center for Grounded Theory, Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies

Abstract

Dr. Kara Vander Linden conducted this interview with Dr. Odis Simmons for the 2024 International Virtual Conference for Qualitative Research and Theory Methodologies.  In this interview, Dr. Odis Simmons described what it was like to be a student of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss at the University of California, San Francisco. He explains how his friendship with Glaser and Strauss gave him a front-row seat to the development of grounded theory. Dr. Simmons also shared information about a shift Barney Glaser made in the meaning and development of substantive grounded theory that has never been previously shared. This interview has been edited for clarity and readability.


 


Key Words: grounded theory, Barney Glaser, Anselm Strauss, history, substantive grounded theory

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How to Cite
Vander Linden, K. L., & Simmons, O. (2025). A Front-Row Seat to the Development of Grounded Theory: An Interview with Odis Simmons. Grounded Theory Review, 24(1), 48–68. Retrieved from https://groundedtheoryreview.org/index.php/gtr/article/view/297
Issue
Vol. 24 No. 1 (2025)
Section
Research Articles

The Grounded Theory Review is an open-access journal, which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the international Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access.

Author Biographies

Kara L. Vander Linden, Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies

Dr. Vander Linden is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, mentor, and lifelong learner. 

Dr. Vander Linden is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies and the Director of the Glaser Center for Grounded Theory. Dr. Kara Vander Linden also teaches research and supervises classic grounded theory dissertations at Saybrook University. She is a peer reviewer for the Grounded Theory Review, BMC Nursing, and Nursing Open. 

Dr. Vander Linden earned a doctorate in education from Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara, CA) with specializations in grounded theory, grounded action, and higher education leadership. She earned a master's in special education from the University of North Carolina (Charlotte, NC) and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Queens University (Charlotte, NC). She has specialized training in working with learners with dyslexia.  

Areas of interest are qualitative research methods and grounded theory, higher education, adult learning, math education, special education, dyslexia, homeschooling, curriculum development, online education, mentoring, organizational systems, and leadership.  

Odis Simmons, Glaser Center for Grounded Theory, Institute for Research and Theory Methodologies

Beginning in 1970, Odis E. Simmons had the fortune of being one of the few sociology Ph.D. students who were able to study simultaneously under the tutelage of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, the originators of grounded theory. Since then, he has centered his professional activities on grounded theory, particularly what is now referred to as “classic grounded theory.” He recently published Experiencing Grounded Theory: A Comprehensive Guide to Learning, Doing, Mentoring, Teaching, and Applying Grounded Theory.

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