Using grounded theory method in social media studies: A scoping review

With a growing number of users, social media is revolutionising communication, knowledge sharing, and interaction globally. It is increasingly attracting research interest as a discourse arena, data repository, and communication platform. Grounded theory, a qualitative social science research method, is gaining popularity in social media studies. This scoping review aims to map the grounded theory research in the field of social media. We used Levac et al.’s extension of Arksey and O’Malley’s systematic five-stage methodological framework for scoping reviews to identify, analyse and synthesise the literature. Social Sciences Citations Index (Web of Science), ProQuest Central and EBSCOhost EJS database were searched to identify empirical research published between 2017 and 2024, from which we selected 30 publications. We found that grounded theory is used as a stand-alone method, in mixed-methods studies or its techniques are integrated into qualitative research. Grounded theory has been widely applied to various social media topics to explore users’ experiences and behaviours on these platforms. Social media researchers have used grounded theory to break new ground identify processes, develop substantive theories, or for pragmatic reasons. The main limitation was the narrow focus of the exploratory method. Very few articles articulated their grounded theory method. Social media researchers considering using or adapting the grounded theory method, processes or techniques are encouraged to thoughtfully consider and clearly report the methodological underpinnings of their research. This will not only assist readers in assessing rigour and interpreting findings but also contribute to the evolution of the grounded theory method itself.