Constant Comparative Method — Constant Comparative Analysis

The Constant Comparative Method (CCM) is a systematic qualitative analysis procedure in which every newly coded incident is immediately compared with all previously coded incidents in the same category. Introduced by Glaser and Strauss in their 1967 grounded theory framework, CCM drives theory development by cycling continuously between data collection and analysis, progressively refining categories until theoretical saturation is reached. Though closely associated with grounded theory, the method has been widely adopted as a stand-alone analytic strategy across qualitative traditions.