Critical realism and grounded theory: Analysing the adoption outcomes for disabled children using the retroduction framework

Abstract

The critical realist position moves away from merely identifying correlations and attempts to seek out the causal mechanisms which underpin disadvantage. By drawing on an empirical study on placing disabled children for adoption, the article seeks to demonstrate the practical application of critical realist by combining its Retroductive framework with Grounded Theory methods. Bhaskar’s ‘Retroduction’ provides an analytical framework from which the researcher examines data within three distinct levels (observable; actual; real). The Observable and Actual levels are processes which identify significant incidences and connections between variables. The ‘Real’, attempts to extend conceptual analysis by hypothesising about the causal mechanisms which account for a situation. This article argues that the multidimensional framework offered through Retroduction is necessary if we are to fully grasp the disadvantage disabled children experience in adoption processes. This entails examining the extent to which socially constructed notions of childhood and disability implicitly affect the practice decisions of social workers. The findings presented through these levels of analysis reveal a nuanced and multilayered understanding of adoption outcomes.