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Investigating Communication Problems: Using and Teaching Grounded Practical Theory

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NCA Short Course

Seattle, November 19, 2021

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Robert T. Craig & Karen Tracy

University of Colorado Boulder

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Short Course Overview

• Introductions
• Development of a GPT research project: A story (Chapter 1)
• Background and framework (Chapter 2)
• Doing GPT (Chapters 3-4)
• Applying and growing GPT (Chapter 5)
• GPT’s niche in the ecology of methods (Chapter 6)
• Future directions (Chapter 7)
• Teaching GPT: Sample syllabi

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Introduction

• Participants & interests
• Developing a GPT project: A story

Background and Framework

Grounded Practical Theory (GPT)

An approach to qualitative research and practical theory designed to address communication problems by generating ideas about how to act wisely in situations that present tensions and dilemmas.

• Based on a philosophy of communication as a practical discipline, the essential purpose of which is to cultivate (improve) the practice of communication in society
• Communication is a social practice—an important kind of activity constituted and regulated by the normative metadiscourse that circulates in a culture
• A practical discipline participates in the normative metadiscourse by disseminating relevant knowledge, connecting theory to practice
• As a practical discipline approach, GPT pursues a specific kind of knowledge, methodology, and relation to society:
• Practical theory: knowledge to cultivate phronesis (practical wisdom) and techne (technical skill)—in the tradition of Aristotle’s philosophy of praxis.
• Methodology for deliberative inquiry—in the tradition of Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy of inquiry as problem-solving and reconstruction of practices
• Metadiscourse to cultivate the social practice of communication by informing reflection and deliberation on communication problems
• GPT is normative theorizing (concerned with “ought” questions), grounded in empirical description and analysis
• Took shape within the Language and Social Interaction (LSI) intellectual community
• GPT itself is a practice that can be cultivated by deliberative inquiry (GPT of GPT)

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Reflecting on Practice: Data

• On one occasion faculty member Roy questioned graduate student Sue following her research presentation. He said to her, “Uhm this is a kinda follow up, I guess on the perception thing. Did you, Are you aware, I would assume that, that studies looking at self attributions and other attributions of competence generally show a pretty high correlation?”

Reconstructing a Practice at Three Levels

Doing GPT: A Road Map

GPT Guide: Seven Steps

1. Select a communication practice
2. Name and frame the selected practice
3. Read, read, read literature & about key concepts
4. Decide whether to use AIDA or ethnographic methods as central tool
5. Reconstruct the practice at the three levels
6. Develop normative proposals about the practice
7. Disseminate your findings

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Doing GPT

Step #1

• Select a communication practice for study
• One that deserves study & cultivation

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• Distinguish from policy issues

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• Attend to who’s view of the practice you are giving most weight

Step #2

• Name and frame the selected practice
• Keep in mind the distinction between situated and dispersed practices

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• Consider what is best level of abstraction and specificity

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• Remember, you can change the framing as you learn more

Identify an interesting communication practice for study

• Focusing on a situated practice, describe:
• Who are the main categories of participants?

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• Why does this practice deserve study and cultivation?

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• Two ways to name and/or frame this practice, identifying advantages of each.
• What data would you collect? (primary, secondary)

Collecting data for a GPT study

• Primary data: Observation of the practice
• Audio/visual recordings
• Field notes
• Secondary data: Metadiscourse about the practice
• Policy and procedure manuals
• Workshops
• Informal conversations among participants
• Interviews with participants
• Comments embedded in the practice (from primary data)
• Media texts (coverage of events, commentary, social media)

Discuss…………..

• What kinds of primary and secondary data would be possible and desirable to collect to investigate your group’s selected practice?

• The findings, conclusion in order- And again, both sides may file an appeal if they disagree with me, This is a dif- very difficult case, but I have to apply the facts of the case to the law, and, issue my ruling. […]
• So what happened is, uh Arielle came home from work one night and her bedroom door was severely damaged. And she was reasonably concerned - by that - specially coming home at night I think it’s pretty clear to the Court that she was not comfortable living there. In particular uh she was concerned with some of Carl’s conduct. The question is, whether or not she had a basis to terminate her portion of the lease and therefore leave the other two uh people in this case Carl and, uh Jason liable for the remainder of the lease…. Uh I can see why Ms. Ar- Arielle Lester was disturbed, coming home from work and seeing that type of damage to the door that she was renting but that does not equate to domestic abuse. Uh the parties were jointly and severally liable on the lease. That they had a side agreement that they would each pay one third which was borne out by the course of performance as set forth even by the defendant’s exhibit, which showed she paid the one month rent of November in the amount of $975. So, uh, I can understand Ms. Lester’s subjective fear, but there’s no objective basis for her to terminate the lease. And therefore she’s liable for December, January, February, March, and April rent for a total of $4,625…. 

Practice Analysis: What problem does this small claims judge appear to be experiencing and addressing in his announcement about his decision?

Issues in Reconstructing a practice and advancing normative claims

1. Reconstructing a practice is designing, not just describing
2. Problems, techniques and situated ideals should be tightly integrated
3. Be careful naming problems b/c “problems” carry blame pointers
4. Techniques can be too concrete (“yes but”) or too abstract (“disrespect”)
5. Situated ideals are not the same as espoused ideals
6. Normative claims can address design as well as conduct of a practice
7. Normative claims should inform practical judgment, not prescribe conduct

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Applying and Growing GPT

Selected GPT Applications

• Intellectual discussion (Tracy 1997; Goodman et al. 2012)
• 911 call-taking (Tracy 1998)
• Feminist organizing (Ashcraft 2001, 2006)
• GDSS meeting facilitation (Aakhus 2001)
• Crisis negotiation (Agne 2007)
• International NGOs (Dempsey 2007)
• Psychic healing (Agne 2010)
• Public meetings (Tracy 2007, 2010; Tracy & Hughes 2014)
• Collegiate classroom discussion (Muller 2014)
• Healthcare (Bloom 2014; Koenig et al. 2013, 2014)
• Nuclear regulatory inspections (Barbour & Gill 2017)
• Public deliberation (Guttman 2007; Sprain et al. 2014, 2017, 2018)
• Small claims court (Tracy et al. 2018, 2019, 2020)

Summary and Analysis of 55 Published Studies

Innovative Applications

Practices: Dispersed, Mesolevel, and Resistant

• GPT began with situated, micro-level, institutional practices (ex: classroom discussions)
• Extensions to dispersed (ex: gift exchanges) meso-level (ex: alternative organization) and resistant (ex: autism advocacy) practices.

Data and Analysis: Ethnography, Coding, Comparison, and Critique

• GPT began with ethnographically informed discourse analysis of recorded interaction
• Extensions use CA, field notes/interviews, qualitative coding, comparative and critical methods

Reconstruction: Designing, Theorizing, and Reconfiguring

• GPT began with problems, techniques & situated ideals
• Extensions incorporate design features, address existing theories, and reconfigure the three-level framework in various ways

Innovative Applications: Normative Claims

1. Complexity: Actors should consider the complex dilemmas they must navigate in deciding how to act (ex: tension of rigor and supportiveness in intellectual discussion).

2. Accountability: Frame communication behavior that people often do with little or no awareness as an accountable choice that requires deliberative reflection (ex: face attack).

3. Techniques:

A) Recommend certain techniques (ex: group facilitation techniques).

B) Defend the reasonableness of techniques commonly thought to be problematic (ex: “wordsmithing”).

C) Caution awareness of problems that may result from using certain techniques (ex: “listen to me”).

4. Design: Recommend changes in interaction design (ex: training, meeting agenda).

5. Ideals:

A) Recommend a situated ideal vs. a common prescription (ex: reasonable hostility vs. civility).

B) Critique a situated ideal and recommend one better grounded in theory & practice (ex: design stance vs. process management; Aakhus, 2001)

Implications for GPT of GPT

GPT’s Niche in the Ecology of Methods

GPT among Social Science Approaches�

• A predominantly qualitative approach

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• Interpretive (Social Constructionist)

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• Shares an attraction to messiness

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• A kind of phronetic SS

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�GPT’s Niche in the Ecology of Methods

Grounded Theory

• Key Features
• Seeks to build theory by studying segments of the world it is to explain
• Highly influential qualitative approach with several strands
• Interviewing is often the main method

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• Difference with GPT
• Type of theory and substantive focus
• Central data used: Talk & transcripts or fieldnotes vs. interviews

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GPT’s Niche: Conclusion

• GPT, either as a stand-alone approach or in combination with another qualitative method, is especially well-suited to investigating questions about communication that are interesting and practically consequential

Concluding Reflections

• Choosing and Using GPT
• Choose GPT to (1) develop practical theory for real world problems, (2) link empirical study to normative ends, and (3) address practices at the level of how they are done (discourse and interaction)
• Choosing GPT means dealing with GPT’s problems and limitations rather than those of another method (all methods have them)
• Hypothetical Applications
• Organizational Practices
• Collective Communication Design Practices
• Critical, Resistant and Marginalized Practices
• The Prospect: Convergence and Divergence

Teaching GPT: Sample Syllabi