  Grounded Theory (GT), a sociological research method designed to study social
phenomena, is increasingly being used to investigate the human and social
aspects of software engineering (SE). However, being written by and for
sociologists, GT is often challenging for a majority of SE researchers to
understand and apply. Additionally, SE researchers attempting ad hoc
adaptations of traditional GT guidelines for modern socio-technical (ST)
contexts often struggle in the absence of clear and relevant guidelines to do
so, resulting in poor quality studies. To overcome these research community
challenges and leverage modern research opportunities, this paper presents
Socio-Technical Grounded Theory (STGT) designed to ease application and achieve
quality outcomes. It defines what exactly is meant by an ST research context
and presents the STGT guidelines that expand GT's philosophical foundations,
provide increased clarity and flexibility in its methodological steps and
procedures, define possible scope and contexts of application, encourage
frequent reporting of a variety of interim, preliminary, and mature outcomes,
and introduce nuanced evaluation guidelines for different outcomes. It is hoped
that the SE research community and related ST disciplines such as computer
science, data science, artificial intelligence, information systems, human
computer/robot/AI interaction, human-centered emerging technologies (and
increasingly other disciplines being transformed by rapid digitalisation and
AI-based augmentation), will benefit from applying STGT to conduct quality
research studies and systematically produce rich findings and mature theories
with confidence.
