This article explores some of the debates of grounded theory from the perspective of a novice researcher. The aim is to show how grounded theory processes support constant dialogue between the theoretical and the pragmatic. First there is a discussion of the kind of knowledge and theory produced by grounded theory. This is followed by a consideration of the implications of the chosen perspective of symbolic interactionism for interviewing research participants, and for a literature review. The iterative nature of grounded theory is then demonstrated as performativity, a key concept from the literature review, is used to explore further some of the dilemmas of the participant interview. The article concludes with a commitment to emergence in grounded theory for both the method and the methodology.