Tutorial on Qualitative Research with Socio-Technical Grounded Theory
Led by: Rashina Hoda, Monash University
Slides

Abstract:
This tutorial will help attendees gain an understanding of the basics of qualitative research and hands-on experience with conducting systematic and rigorous qualitative data analysis using socio-technical grounded theory (STGT). It will be useful for students and professional researchers with all levels of experience, including those attempting qualitative research for the first time. The tutorial will cover selected content from the new “Qualitative Research with Socio-Technical Grounded Theory” Springer book and include plenty of hands-on examples of qualitative data analysis to interactively work through. It will equip attendees with the knowledge, skills, and resources required to handle qualitative data from human and LLM sources, and to derive rich descriptive findings, taxonomies, theoretical frameworks, models, and theories.

Speaker Bio:
Rashina Hoda is a Professor of Software Engineering at Monash University, Australia. Her research focuses on the human and socio-technical aspects of Software Engineering, AI, and Digital Health. She has published over 160 research papers, been awarded over $5M in research funding, and received multiple awards including being named the 2025 Top Researcher in Software Systems by The Australian. Her 2024 Springer book presenting socio-technical grounded theory, a modern variation to traditional GT, has been accessed over 14K times on SpringerLink. Rashina currently serves as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, as PC co-chair for the SEIP track at ICSE 2026, and on the ICSE steering committee. In 2024, she received the Women of Colour in STEM Guiding Star Mentorship Award for her mentoring of numerous women students and early-mid career researchers over the years. Selected as a 2021-22 Superstar of STEM by Science and Technology Australia, she champions women in STEM and shares her work widely across academia, industry, and media, such as through TEDxAuckland, SXSW Sydney, Agile Australia, ABC News, ABC Radio National etc. For more, see https://rashina.com/.