*2.2. Description of Methods Used*

Qualitative research is a general term comprising various research methods, such as ethnography, nature exploration, fragment analysis, case studies, and ecological sample record analysis. Of these, grounded theory is an effective bottom-up qualitative research method that is frequently applied in the social sciences. With grounded theory, information is processed by comparing, analyzing, and transforming data into core concepts to establish theories. Grounded theory's data analysis requirements are quite strict [14]. As Strauss and Corbin (1997) describe, it involves the process of coding the flow of operations that decompose previously collected or translated textual data and identifying phenomena to conceptualize them so that later we can re-abstract, upgrade, and synthesize concepts into new categories. Hence, the aim of grounded theory is to describe the essence and significance of phenomena at the theoretical level but generate it from the analysis of what has been written in the literature. A relatively standardized grounded theory research process is shown in Figure 2 [15].

**Figure 2.** General grounded theory application process.

One grounded theory requirement is that theories are explored and developed from the data in no particular form [16]. The process of data analysis can be divided into three steps, frequently named 'triple coding'. Triple coding comprises open coding, associative coding, and selective coding [17]. Although triple coding is formally presented in three sequential stages, they may contain loops and/or force the researcher to go back while grouping concepts and categories until all the data and categories are consistent [14].

First, open coding focuses on reading relevant texts and discovering a variety of topics. This method is often used in the initial analysis of the literature. It can conceptualize and categorize (downsize) references. Usually, a large number of references is progressively reduced into concepts and categories that correctly reflect the documents' contents. In this process, the original references in the literature, as well as their abstracts and content, are "broken" or "crumbled", then re-instated. The purpose of open coding is to deal with the problem of convergence by identifying recurring phenomena, concepts, and categories.

Associative coding is the second-level coding process in grounded theory. After completing the previous coding task, the categories with high frequency and importance are screened out through the inductive process of "causality → phenomenon → situation → intermediary condition, action/interaction strategy → result". Then, the potential organic context and internal relationships between categories are explored with the use of synonyms, attribute levels, and even personal opinions. Next, we select a certain "axis" category as the core and reintegrate the previously decomposed data to identify any relationships between that main category with other secondary categories and/or problems.

Finally, selective coding involves the continuous comparison of raw materials, concepts, categories, and (especially) category relationships. Selective coding refers to the systematic analysis of the discovered conceptual genera and the selection of a "core genera" [18]. Selective coding is high-level coding in qualitative research. It aims to construct a qualitative theoretical model that describes the research topic based on the conceptual categories and relationships defined in previous relational coding stages. Therefore, selective coding is also called "theoretical coding". Its output involves dividing the research topic into core and supported categories. The core genera are an abstract category with more secondary genera (subgenera) and more coding reference points. This code genera have a large proportion and strong explanatory power in the model. A class outside the core class (but at the same level) is the supported class.

Grounded theory is suited to areas of research where theoretical systems are not yet explanatory and where it is difficult to explain some practical phenomena. It is also suitable when there are significant theoretical gaps and/or new phenomena that keep appearing [14]. As current research into RM is incomplete and its theoretical system is not fully fledged, grounded theory should be particularly useful. Figure 3 provides a flowchart summary of the research method and its major components introduced above.

**Figure 3.** Research method flowchart.
