Grounded theory is among the most widely used methodologies in the social sciences, yet it is also one of the most frequently misunderstood. One reason for this is that novice researchers – and at times even those with considerable experience – often assume that a brief chapter in an introductory qualitative methods textbook is sufficient to understand how the approach actually works. The founders of grounded theory, Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss, wrote extensively on its procedures, and Glaser in particular argued that the methodology is rather challenging to master without appropriate mentoring. In his view, no researcher truly understands grounded theory until they have completed a full study using the methodology themselves. The aim of this lecture is to offer a concise introduction to how social scientific theory can be developed from empirical data using the classic version of grounded theory. It will outline the central analytical procedures of the methodology, and by the end of the session participants should have a clear understanding of how to begin their own projects and what the main stages of a grounded theory study involve.