Critical- Constructivist Grounded Theory research

CCGT is a qualitative method that adopts both a critical and constructivist approach to grounded theory.  This means that it is a reflexive method that emphasizes both an attention to how meanings are constructed personally and interpersonally as well as to how they are shaped via sociocultural, political, and systemic contexts.  What differentiates CCGT from many other qualitative approaches is that it provides guidance at every step of the research process on how to mitigate our assumptions as researchers so they do not interfere unduly with our analysis and also on how to increase our perspicacity so that our findings vividly reflect the lived experiences of our participants.  From its beginning, CCGT has long incorporated a variety of participatory methods that researchers can consider including as well.  And, it is based in a detailed critical-feminist-multicultural methodological foundation that is consistent with the logic of qualitative methods, addressing key issues such as consensus, generalization, reflexivity, causality, and epistemic privilege.

This webpage is intended to provide information about critical-constructivist grounded theory (CCGT).  It lists resources for learning about how to conduct CCGT, about how to conduct meta-syntheses, qualitative meta-analyses, and integrative meta-analyses.  It provides examples of articles using these methods that may be helpful in publishing CCGT. As well, it lists methodological articles that enrich the research process by describing critical-feminist-multicultural foundations for approaching reflexivity, consensus methods, causality, meta-synthesis/qualitative meta-analysis, and integrative meta-analysis.

Resources for learning about ccgt

Book

Levitt, H. M. (2021, January).  Essentials of Critical-Constructivist Grounded Theory Research.  In book series, Introduction to Qualitative Methods (Series Eds., C. E. Hill & S. Knox). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.  https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/essentials-critical-constructivist-grounded-theory-research

*Note:  You can obtain a discount (from $25.99 to $18.74 - pending updates by APA) if you are an APA-member and purchase the book from APA: https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/essentials-critical-constructivist-grounded-theory-research 

Article

Levitt, H. M., Kehoe, K. A., Hand, A. B., & Pierorazio, N. A. (2025). Critical-constructivist grounded theory research: A methodology for the critical study of gender, masculinities, and other identities. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000526

Chapters In Press/Process

Levitt, H. M., Hand, A. B., Pierorazio, N. A., & Kehoe, K. A.  (In process).  Using Critical-Constructivist Grounded Theory.  In L. Mizock and P. Sweeney, Fielding Handbook on Qualitative Research. Fielding University Press.

Levitt, H. M., Hand, A. B., Pierorazio, N. A., & Kehoe, K. A.  (In press).  Grounded Theory Methods: From Classic to Critical-Constructivist Grounded Theory.  In F. Wertz, L. Harlow, L. & R. Fouladi (Eds.) and Osbeck & Winston-Proctor, C. (Assoc. Eds.), A Quarter Century of Methodology in Psychological Science: Progress, Critique, and Promise.

Levitt, H. M., Hand, A. B., Pierorazio, N. A., & Kehoe, K. A.  (In press).  Critical-Constructivist Grounded Theory.  In J. N. Lester, Huma, B. & Williamson, F. A. (Eds.), The Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Examples of CCGT Studies & Meta-Analyses/Syntheses

CCGT Study Examples

Levitt, H. M., Kehoe, K. A., Day, L. C., Nadwodny, N., Chang, E., Rizo, J. L., Hand, A. B., Alfatafta, R., D’Ambrozio, G., Ruggeri, K., Swanson, S. E., Thompson, A., & Priest, A. (2024). Being not binary: Experiences and functions of gender and gender communities. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 90, 1766–1786. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01543-5

Levitt, H. M., Collins, K. M., Morrill, Z., Gorman, K. R., Ipekci, B., Grabowski, L., Karch, J., Kurtz, K., Orduña Picón, R., Reyes, A., Vaswani-Bye, A., & Wadler, B. (2022). Learning clinical and cultural empathy: A call for a multidimensional approach to empathy-focused psychotherapy training. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy: On the Cutting Edge of Modern Developments in Psychotherapy, 52(4), 267–279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-022-09541-y

Levitt, H. M., Surace, F. I., Wu, M. B., Chapin, B., Hargrove, J. G., Herbitter, C., Lu, E. C., Maroney, M. R., & Hochman, A. L. (2022). The meaning of scientific objectivity and subjectivity: From the perspective of methodologists. Psychological Methods, 27(4), 589–605. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000363

Levitt, H. M., Schuyler, S. W., Chickerella, R., Elber, A., White, L., Troeger, R. L., Karter, J. M., Preston, J. & Collins, K. M. (2020). How discrimination in adoptive, foster, and medical systems harms LGBTQ+ families: Research on the experiences of prospective parents, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 32(3), 261-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2020.1728461

Examples of CCGT Meta-Syntheses/Qualitative Meta-Analyses/Integrative Meta-Analyses

Kehoe, K. A & Levitt, H. M., (Accepted pending minor revisions). Correcting myths underlying anti-trans legislation: Qualitative meta-analysis on transgender identity development.   Journal of Counseling Psychology.

Andoni, L., Eisenhower, A., Levitt, H. M. & Gudknecht, J. (2024). Meta-Synthesis of Autistic Adult's First-Person Perspectives about Mental Health-Related Services.  Autism in Adulthood, Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0167  

Levitt, H. M., & Morrill, Z. (2023). Silences in psychotherapy: An integrative meta-analytic research review. Psychotherapy, 60(3), 320-341. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000480

Wu, M. B., & Levitt, H. M. (2020). A qualitative meta-analytic review of the therapist responsiveness literature: Guidelines for practice and training. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy: On the Cutting Edge of Modern Developments in Psychotherapy, 50(3), 161–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-020-09450-y

Methodological Articles that Support the Use of CCGT

On Methodological Integrity

Levitt, H. M., Motulsky, S. L., Wertz, F. J., & Morrow, S. L., Ponterotto, J. G. (2017). Recommendations for designing and reviewing qualitative research in psychology: Promoting methodological integrity. Qualitative Psychology, 4(1), 1-22. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/qua-qup0000082.pdf

Levitt, H. M., Morrill, Z., Collins, K. M., & Rizo, J. L. (2021).  The methodological integrity of critical qualitative research.  Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(3), 357-370. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000523 

Levitt, H. M., Morrill, Z., & Collins, K. M. (2020).  Considering methodological integrity in counselling and psychotherapy research. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research: Special issue on Innovative Methods (20)3, 422-428.  https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12284

On Understanding Methodological Foundations 

Levitt, H. M. (2025). Attending to investigator reflexivity and epistemic privilege: A worksheet for facilitating individual and research team self-reflection. Qualitative Psychology, 12(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000331

Levitt, H. M. (2024). A consideration of the influence of researchers’ lived experiences: Reflections on epistemic privilege and social justice in qualitative research. Qualitative Psychology, 11(3), 315-327. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000318

Levitt, H. M. (2024).  A reflection on qualitative methods activism: Advancing knowledge and expanding science. An editorial. Qualitative Psychology, 11(2), 191-196. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000303

Maxwell, J. A. & Levitt, H. M. (2023). How qualitative methods advance the study of causation in psychotherapy research. Psychotherapy Research, 33(8), 1019-1030. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2023.2181112

Levitt, H. M., Ipekci, B., Morrill, Z. & Rizo, J. (2021). Intersubjective recognition as the methodological enactment of epistemic privilege: A critical basis for consensus and intersubjective confirmation procedures.  Qualitative Psychology, 8(3), 407-427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/qup0000206

Levitt, H. M. (2021).  Qualitative generalization, not to the population but to the phenomenon: Reconceptualizing variation in qualitative research.  Qualitative Psychology 8(1), 95-110. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000184

On Meta-Synthesis and Qualitative Meta-Analytic Methods

Levitt, H. M. (2018). How to conduct a qualitative meta-analysis: Tailoring methods to enhance methodological integrity. Psychotherapy Research, 28(3), 367-378, doi: 10.1080/10503307.2018.1447708

Levitt, H. M. (2024). How to conduct an integrative mixed methods meta-analysis: A tutorial for the systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Advance online publication. Psychological Methods. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000675