Purpose This paper develops a conceptual methodological framework for governing the use of artificial intelligence in the grounded theory. It addresses the risk that AI-generated outputs may be mistaken for qualitative evidence, interpretation or theory. Design/methodology/approach The paper synthesizes grounded theory traditions, computational grounded theory, large language model supported coding, human in the loop research, qualitative trustworthiness and critical AI scholarship. It develops a validation gate framework and uses a worked methodological vignette to show how AI suggestions can be documented, checked and bounded. Findings The paper argues that AI can support retrieval, organization, candidate coding, comparison and adversarial audit, but cannot authorize meaning, categories or theory. It identifies seven validation gates and four modes of AI use: assistive, dialogic, generative and adversarial audit. Originality/value The paper differentiates epistemic governance from reflexivity, trustworthiness, auditability and human in the loop design by focusing on the epistemic status of AI outputs before they enter the analytic record. It offers operational pass criteria for preserving theoretical sensitivity, reflexivity, auditability and researcher accountability when grounded theory is scaled through AI.
Purpose This article reports a case-study-based evaluation of a digital game designed to teach children about English law and children's rights with a sample of 12 children aged 3–6 years. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate the extent to which each child benefitted from the game, we developed three play-based activities that would enable the children to demonstrate growth in their legal competence. Findings . There was some evidence that the game positively impacted the majority of the children's knowledge regarding understanding when a situation was problematic and who can help them. There was also evidence that repeated engagement with the same scenarios over time was important in cementing the children's new knowledge. Adults were required to support the children's engagement with and navigation of the game, raising some concerns about whether the game was suitable for children in the age group to play independently. There was less evidence that the children were also able to apply their new knowledge or demonstrate confidence in escalating tricky situations, but this may be because children needed extended gameplay or a secure knowledge base before these competencies could emerge. Research limitations/implications This article demonstrates that it is possible to undertake a robust evaluation of an educational intervention using a form of play-based data elicitation which is incorporated into individual case studies, and then interrogated using cross-case analysis. Practical implications There is evidence that children in the early years may benefit from interacting with digital game environments to help them to understand their rights. Social implications By increasing children's rights awareness, we hope that even the youngest children may be able to recognise when a situation is a problem, and seek appropriate support. Originality/value To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies of its kind to show that a digital game can support the development of legal capability in children aged 3–6 years.
Purpose The purpose of this article is to elaborate on the process to be undertaken in building a conceptual framework by drawing insights derived from an early-career researcher's doctoral research experience. Design/methodology/approach Building on the scholarly literature and the researcher's own experience, this article adopts a descriptive approach to explore the components and process of developing the conceptual framework in qualitative research. Findings This article posits that a typical conceptual framework, which reflects the non-linear, emergent and evolving nature of the process, is derived based on the concepts drawn from the literature, theoretical lens/es and the researcher's implicit theories. Practical implications The practical implications for novice researchers, including doctoral scholars, are that this article provides a step-by-step guide on building a conceptual framework systematically, while resolving dilemmas which arise during the process, thereby providing practical, actionable guidance to researchers to navigate uncharted territory. Originality/value Even though a conceptual framework is an integral component of qualitative research, as it clarifies the study's purpose, identifies key constructs and guides the research process from inception to execution, novice researchers are often confronted with a range of dilemmas when developing the conceptual framework. This article contributes to the methodological literature by identifying the constitutive elements of a conceptual framework and the process to be undertaken in building the framework.
Purpose This essay conceptualizes configurational recognition as a recurrent epistemic condition in qualitative analysis, clarifying how relations among empirical or analytic fragments acquire sufficient significance to orient further inquiry while their meaning remains unsettled. It distinguishes configurational recognition analytically within broader processes of interpretation and abduction, while showing how emerging configurations can be preserved and examined without prematurely stabilizing their meaning. Design/methodology/approach The essay develops a conceptual argument through synthesis and comparison, drawing on methodological discussions of abduction, reflexivity, resonance, analytic suggestiveness, thematic development and interpretive practice. It also uses a retrospective reconstruction from a previously published qualitative case study to illustrate how emerging configurations become salient, are preserved, complicated and reformulated across analytic iterations. Findings Configurational recognition is conceptualized as a situated and revisable condition in which relations, tensions, contrasts or arrangements acquire interpretive force while their meaning remains unsettled. Emerging configurations therefore have the status of candidate arrangements rather than completed interpretations. Their salience can be generative without being evidential, since they may redirect inquiry without warranting a particular explanation. The analysis also shows how premature commitment can lead to misrecognition when the compellingness of a configuration is mistaken for warrant of its adequacy. Research limitations/implications Future research could examine how configurational recognition is experienced and worked with across different qualitative traditions and analytic settings. Studies of analytic memos, research diaries, supervision conversations and collaborative analysis could clarify how candidate configurations are developed, challenged, abandoned or transformed into more developed interpretations, and how these processes are shaped by methodological and theoretical commitments. Practical implications The essay develops configurational thinking as a discipline of provisionality for preserving emerging configurations long enough to examine how they came into view, why they became compelling and what happens to them as analysis continues. It encourages researchers to keep alternative configurations visible and to avoid treating early salience as evidence of interpretive adequacy. Social implications By making emerging configurations and their development more visible and discussable, the essay may support more transparent, reflexive and accountable qualitative inquiry. It may also help researchers, supervisors and research teams examine why particular relations become compelling, how alternatives are considered and how emerging configurations change as interpretation proceeds. Originality/value The essay contributes to qualitative methodology by specifying configurational recognition as a recurrent epistemic condition within interpretive inquiry. Its originality lies in isolating the status of analytically significant but unsettled relations and showing how such candidate configurations can redirect inquiry without yet warranting a particular interpretation. It also develops configurational thinking as a discipline of provisionality for examining how these relations become compelling, are challenged and change across analytic iterations.
This study explores how Indonesian teacher educators engage in virtual professional learning through a WhatsApp-based virtual professional learning community (VPLC), focusing on processes of “learning together” and “growing together.” Using an interpretive qualitative case study design, data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews exploring participants' experiences of engagement within a WhatsApp-based VPLC. Guided by a multidimensional engagement framework (behavioral, cognitive, collaborative, social, and emotional), the analysis shows how peer feedback, resource sharing, structured dialogue, and reflective inquiry support instructional adaptation and professional confidence. Findings underscore the importance of emotional support, trust, and distributed leadership in sustaining engagement. Despite challenges such as workload pressures and uneven digital literacy, mobile-based professional communities offer meaningful, context-sensitive spaces for collaborative and ongoing professional growth. This study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it shifts attention from school teachers to teacher educators, a group that remains underrepresented in VPLC research. Second, it examines a self-organized WhatsApp-based professional learning community operating outside formal institutional professional development structures. Third, it demonstrates how multidimensional engagement (behavioral, cognitive, emotional, collaborative, and social) supports professional learning within a resource-constrained and geographically dispersed Indonesian context.
