Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M9946

Constant Comparative Method

Constant Comparative Method
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Updated 2026-08-15

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

The constant comparative method is the core analytic procedure of grounded theory, developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in their work on the discovery of grounded theory. Data collection, coding, and theory construction proceed together rather than in sequence. The analyst compares incidents with incidents, then incidents with emerging categories, and finally categories with each other, revising the categories as contradictions appear. The core claim is that theory emerges from comparison rather than being imposed and then illustrated. The qualification is saturation: comparison stops when new data no longer change the categories, and stopping early leaves the theory thin.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Code and compare: attach a code to each new datum and check it against existing codes. - Promote and merge: turn recurring codes into categories and merge those that overlap. - Test for saturation: keep sampling until new data stop changing the categories.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

A single case can be read in many ways, so meaning becomes visible only against contrast. Comparing a new incident with earlier ones exposes which features are shared and which are incidental, which is what turns raw description into a category. Comparing categories with each other then builds the relations that constitute theory. Because each new datum can force a revision, sampling and analysis must run together; the point at which contradictions stop arriving marks the theory's boundary.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounded_theoryZH · Explicit
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