Grounded theory in medical education studies: To delay or not the literature review?

Abstract Introduction: for those who adopt Grounded theory method, the question of how and when to interact with the existing literature often remains problematic. This study was conducted to find the most appropriate time for reviewing texts in educational research based on grounded theory. Methodology: This was a narrative review. A search was done in the following scientific databases: Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, ERIC, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 88 articles were obtained of which there remained 13 full-text studies, and the findings of the present study were extracted and analyzed based on these 13 studies. Results: The main figures in grounded theory research is how and when to start the literature review. Glaser suggests reading the literature of different disciplines except the main field of research at the beginning of the research process. Strauss and Corbin support reviewing the literature at the beginning of the study. Charmaz's allows for a primary review of the literature before the study starts. Clarke does not believe in delayed literature review. As far as education is concerned, Robert Thornberg (approach’s called informed grounded theory.), a pioneer in education research, is of the opinion that an updated literature review at the beginning of the research can develop the transferability and reliability of any theory. Conclusion: Apart from Glaser, other researchers seem to believe in reviewing the literature at the beginning of the research process. By introducing informed grounded theory, educational theorists recommend conducting literature review research-initially.