Researching unfamiliar terrains: potential and limitations of the critical realist grounded theory

Abstract

By reflecting on the research journey in an ethno-case study, this study attempts to identify the potential and limitations of critical realist grounded theory (CRGT) that hitherto remain unsubstantiated. My research sought to uncover how a Cambodian NGO’s rights-based approach fostered people’s transformative learning (TL) towards claiming their rights to development and how various structures influenced the extent of their TL. CRGT enabled the elucidation of the stratified realities, particularly land grabbing that influenced people’s TL, through the abduction and retroduction processes. However, using CRGT—which treats people’s meaning-making as a point of departure—and progressively focusing on the structures through the same processes led to the lack of empirical data on the structures. Therefore, I suggest some measures to overcome this issue.

Keywords:

• Critical realism
• retroduction
• grounded theory
• ethnography
• transformative learning

Acknowledgments

This article reflects on my doctoral thesis work performed at the University of Sussex in the UK. The earlier versions were presented at Oxford Ethnography and Education Conference 2015 and included in the conference proceedings of Adult Education in Global Times: An International Research Conference 2020 (AEGT2020).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 The Cambodian government has a five-level administration system, namely: national, provincial, district, commune, and village.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University under an Academic Research Subsidy and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (Grant number 19K02285).

Notes on contributors

Rikio Kimura

Rikio Kimura is a professor of Sustainability and Tourism at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan and holds a doctoral degree in Education from the University of Sussex. He worked for an international development NGO in Cambodia from 1997 to 2007. His research interests include NGO, social enterprise, community development, adult learning, pedagogy and Cambodia.