Research in Nursing

1. Qualitative Data Analysis
: An Introduction
Carol Grbich
Chapter. 7
Phenomenology

2. Phenomenology
Phenomenology involves exploring, in depth,
experiences or texts to clarify their essences
There are several different forms of
Phenomenology:
Classical/realistic/transcendental;
Existential
Hermeneutic
Heuristic

3. Classical Phenomenology – Edmund
Husserl
Seeks the structures of the world and how
people act and react to them, eg. the structure of
consciousness, intentionality and essences in an
external world
how objects are constituted in pure
consciousness
and how these constitutions can be identified
through processes of phenomenological
reduction.

4. Phenomenological reduction (bracketing)
identify the phenomena or object
identify a recent experience of your own of this
phenomena in terms of how it appeared to you
take certain features of this experience and
develop variations on aspects of this bracketed
experience and then delete these from the object
continue this process until you arrive at the
essence or essential features of the object

5. Bracketing detail (1)
Ask more specific questions about your knowledge of and
attitudes (What do I think of this? What do I think this
experience would be like?)
Move back, remove all theoretical perspectives, symbols and
constructs and your preconceived ideas, experiences and
feelings re the topic under research
Prepare to confront the phenomenon with a blank sheet,
rather like taking the position of an alien from a distant
planet
Focus on the phenomenon and become open and passive
Set reasoning aside
Listen carefully and allow yourself to be drawn in, in a
sustained and receptive manner

6. Bracketing detail (2)
 Document answers to the question: what does the
experience appear to be now?
 Examine this description, : Does it arise from my
own experiences or from past knowledge or my
reading? All aspects which can be seen to have
come from other sources must be abandoned.
 Locate the experiences’ essence and identify and
critique the essences’ elements. Ask yourself the
question: Would the phenomenon still stand
without any of these?
 Negotiate the essences’ elements with those
observed/interviewed.
(Adapted from Crotty, 1996:158-159

7. Data collection
Interview with open ended questions seeking
experiences. Return several times to seek clarification
of issues or to explore potential aspects which are
becoming illuminated
Observe (bathe in the experience as it occurs –
observing the human experiences both of yourself and
of others)
Include documentation e.g. literature, poetry,
biography, material culture etc. (seek perspectives of
others regarding these texts, meanwhile recording
your own understandings and experiences)
Identify and deconstruct discourses

8. Data analysis
Bracket out your own experiences
Enter a dialogue with individual participants (or
engage with an existing text)
Reflect on what you have gained through reading and
journaling your thoughts
Identify the major themes from the narratives/texts
using processes of preliminary data analysis and/or
thematic analysis

9. Data analysis detail (1)
Stage 1: ideographic mode (the gathering of closely
connected ideas, words or concepts)
construct a ‘research key’ of categories from each transcript
and subcategories related to the research question. This key
will be expanded as more transcripts are perused.
isolate ‘natural meaning units’ – phrases with a single
meaning and number these according to categories in the
research key
select themes which are central to the experiences of
participants - write a phenomenological comment on each
central theme
write a succinct sub narrative of the individual’s experience of
the phenomenon and relate it to the interpretive themes
selected.

10. Data analysis detail (2)
Stage 2; nomothetic mode (the search for abstract principles)
collate sub -narratives and interpretive themes and use concept
maps to to indicate interconnections around the phenomenon
being researched
rank interpretive themes in order of importance (frequency x
intensity) and group meta themes and subthemes
identify explicative themes (those which appear to have a primary
referential character) using bracketing of your own thoughts and
biases followed by creative writing through ‘free variation’ to
multiply possibilities
creatively write using your own embodied experience of the
phenomena together with information from the literature to
enhance phenomenological description of interpretive themes key
to the phenomena.
(adapted from Devinish, 2002: 5-6)

11. Existential Phenomenology; Sartre,
Heidegger, Merleau Ponty.
Consciousness is a separate entity
People are immersed in their life worlds
Phenomenological reduction is not desired
Movement from abstract to the real – the
meanings for being must be uncovered first
Husserl’s movement in classical phenomenology
is from the real to the abstract.

12. Hermeneutic Phenomenology : Heidegger,
Gadamer, Ricoeur & Van Manen
Investigates the interpretive structures of experiences of individuals or
texts
 The interpretive focus is from the outside - from the perspective of
the ‘objective’ researcher, or from the inside - with a focus on
interaction between the interpreter and text
 The integration of part and whole in terms of overall interpretation
is essential. ‘being’ (existence) is the overarching hidden aspect
which becomes evident via the activities of ‘beings’ (individuals).
 Bracketing does not occur but a reflective journal is kept
 Co-construction of the data between researcher and respondent
occurs and that the outcome involves a continuous conversation.

13. Heuristic Phenomenology : Moutsakas 1.
1. Become one with the research question through self awareness
and self knowledge involving;
self dialogue ( ones own experiences),
tacit knowing (that which lies beneath intuition),
intuition (that which is between explicit and tacit
knowledge),
indwelling (going inwards for a deeper understanding),
focusing (on the central meaning of the experience ) and
examination of the internal reference frames (created
from knowledge and experience).

14. Heuristic Phenomenology : Moutsakas 2.
2. Immersion: the researcher becomes totally involved in
the world of data
3. Incubation: intense concentration on knowledge
expansion through increased awareness, intuitive or
tacit insights and understanding
4. Illumination: active knowing to expand understanding of
the experience through a breakthrough
5. Explication: reflective actions and comprehensive
depiction of core themes
6. Creative synthesis: bring together and display data
creatively to show patterns and relationships