Enhancing security : a grounded theory of Chinese survival in New Zealand.

Abstract

This study examines how an ethnic minority group copes under conditions of adversity. It follows in the tradition of a wide body of qualitative work that has investigated racial minorities and their everyday experiences. Much of the existing work, however, focuses on merely describing thematically and/or conceptually what goes on. The current study aims to construct an integrated conceptual understanding of how a minority group engages in the coping process. More specifically, this study seeks to develop a substantive theory that can explain and predict human behaviour. Grounded theory methodology was used in aid of the theory development process (see Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Put simply, grounded theory is an inductive methodology that attempts to understand action from the perspective of social actors (Brooks, 1998). To uncover the coping process, the