Strategies for theorizing from process data

In this article I describe and compare ct number of alternative generic str ategies for the analysis of process data, looking at the consequences of th ese strategies for emerging theories. I evaluate the strengths and weakness es of the strategies in terms of their capacity to generate theory that is accurate, parsimonious, general, and useful and suggest that method and the ory are inextricably intertwined, that multiple strategies are often advisa ble, and that no analysis strategy will produce theory without an uncodifia ble creative leap, however small. Finally, I argue that there is room in th e organizational research literature for more openness within the academic community toward a variety of forms of coupling between theory and data.