Supporting a grounded theory with an audit trail: an illustration

An audit trail can enhance the rigor and transparency of qualitative research. It can serve as a means of holding up to scrutiny the methodological and theoretical decisions made throughout the research process. However, what constitutes an audit trail is often narrowly conceived and inadequately explained. This article elucidates the process of creating an audit trail as a trustworthiness technique applied to the grounded theory methodology. In particular, it presents, as an illustration, an audit trail that supports a theory of stakeholder collaboration developed from a study of community-based antipoverty projects in Jamaica. The antipoverty projects were supported by social funds - special grants from the national government to non-governmental and community-based organizations, which sponsored and organized the projects.