Phenomenological research aims to describe the lived experiences of several individuals regarding a phenomenon. It seeks to illuminate specific phenomena through how they are perceived by those in a situation. Researchers identify a shared experience, attempt to locate the universal essence of that experience among individuals, and describe both what was experienced and how they experienced it. The methodology involves identifying a phenomenon, bracketing researcher bias, collecting data typically through interviews, reducing the data to key themes, and describing the essence of the experience through both textural and structural descriptions.
3. Phenomenological Research
Definition
“Whereas a narrative study reports
the life of a single individual, a
phenomenological study describes
the meaning of several individuals
of their lived experience…”
4. 3 Elements of Phenomenology
1. “The study of the lived experiences of persons”
2. Experience is a conscious process .
3. The “development of [interpretations] of the
essences of these experiences”
6. Pure phenomenological
research seeks essentially
to describe rather than
explain, and to start from a
perspective free from
hypotheses or
preconceptions (Husserl
1970).
7. 5 Elements of Phenomenological Research
1. Identification of a shared experience
2. Phenomenological research attempts to locate the universal
nature of an experience.
3. Attempt to identify shared experience among various
individuals experiencing the same phenomena.
4. Attempt to locate the essence of the experience.
5. The account of their experience includes
a. What was experienced?
b. How they experienced it?
8. Types of Phenomenology
Hermeneutic Phenomenology
The interpretation of the meaning and significances of
one’s experience with a phenomenon.
Transcendental or Psychological Phenomenology
a. Transcendental: “everything is perceived freshly, as
if for the first time”
b. The focus shifts from researcher interpretation to
participant description.
9. Phenomenological Methodology
1. Identify phenomena .
2. Bracket and interpret researcher bias and expectation.
3. Data Collection.
4. Reduction: (identification of salient or seminal points of
interpretation/description).
5. Description of themes:
a. Textural description: what participants experienced.
b. Structural Description: how participants experienced.
c. Essence of the experience: Combination of both textural and
structural descriptions.
10. In the human sphere this normally
translates into gathering ‘deep’ information and
perceptions through inductive, qualitative methods such
as:
interviews,
discussions,
participant observation,
representing it from the perspective of the
research participant(s)