RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

PHENOMENOLOGY
DESCRIPTIVE & HERMENEUTIC/INTERPRETIVE

VISITACION R. ALFAD
In simple terms, phenomenology can be defined as an approach
to research that seeks to describe the essence of a phenomenon by
exploring it from the perspective of those who have experienced
it. The goal of phenomenology is to describe the meaning of this
experience—both in terms of what was experienced and how it
was experienced. There are different kinds of phenomenology,
each rooted in different ways of conceiving of the what and how
of human experience. In other words, each approach of
phenomenology is rooted in a different school of philosophy.
Phenomenological studies explore the living
experiences of individuals regarding a particular
phenomenon and provides a greater
understanding and awareness of the meaning
such individuals attribute to their experiences.
(Creswell, 2014; Munhall, 2012; Rolfe, 2013).
DESCRIPTION OF THREE CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO
PHENOMENOLOGY

Phenomenological Approach Description Key figures

Lifeworld research A blended approach that explores how Peer Ashworth, Karin
daily experiences manifest in the life-world Dahlberg
of individuals through consideration of
selfhood, security, embodiment,
temporality and spatiality

Post-intentional A blended approach that treats the Mark Vagle

phenomenology phenomenon as the unit of analysis but
asserts that phenomena are multiple,
partial, contextual, and in flux; being
simultaneously produced and producing

Interpretive phenomelogical A blended approach that aims to provide Jonathan Smith

analysis (IPA) detailed examination of the lived
experience of a phenomenon through
participants’ personal experiences and
personal perception of objects and events.
In contrast to other approaches, in IPA the
researcher performs an active role in the
interpretive process.
TYPES OF PHENOMENOLOGY RESEARCH

Hermeneutics Phenomenology

In this, the researcher is oriented towards lived experiences

and interpreting the texts of life. The researcher first turns to a
phenomenon, an “abiding concern”, which seriously interests
them (reading, running, and driving). In the process, they
reflect on essential themes, what constitute the nature of this
lived experience, they write a description of the phenomenon,
maintaining a strong relation to the topic of inquiry and
balancing the parts of the writing to the whole.
TRANSCENDENTAL PHENOMENOLOGY

This consists of identifying a phenomenon to study, bracketing

out one’s experiences, and collecting data from several persons
who have experienced the phenomena.
The researcher then analyses the data by reducing the information
to significant statements or quotes and combines the statements
into themes. Following that, the researcher develops a textual
description of the experience of the persons (What participants
experienced), a structural description of their experiences (how
they experienced it in terms of conditions, situations, or context),
and a combination of the textual and structural descriptions to
convey an overall essence of their experience.
COMPARISON OF TRANSCENDENTAL AND HERMENEUTIC PHENOMENOLOGY
 
  Trancendental Hermeneutic (interpretive)
(descriptive)phenomenology phenomenology

Philosophical origins Husserl Heidegger

Gadamer
Ontological assumptions Reality is internal to the knower; what Lived experience is an interpretive process
appears in their consciousness situated in an individual’s lifeworld

Epistemological assumptions Observer must separate him/herself from Observer is part of the world and not bias
the world including his/her own physical free; understands phenomenon by
being to reach the state of the interpretative means
transcendental I; bias-free; understands
phenomena by descriptive means

Researcher role in data collection Bracket researcher subjectivity during data Reflects on essential themes of participant
collection and analysis experience with the phenomenon while
simultaneously reflection on own
experience
Researcher role in data analysis/writing Consider phenomena from different Iterative cycle of capturing and writing
perspectives identify units of meaning and reflections towards a robust and nuanced
cluster into themes to form textural analysis; consider how the data (or parts)
description (the what of the phenomenon). contributed to evolving understanding of
Use imaginative variation to create the phenomena (whole)
structural (the how) description. Combine
these descriptions to form the essence of
the phenomenon
QUALITIES OF PHENOMENOLOGY METHODOLOGY

Following is a list of principles and qualities applied to

phenomenological methodology and data collection:
 Phenomenology searches for the meaning or essence of an
experience rather than measurements or explanations.
 Researcher should begin with the practice of Epoche. He or she will
describe their own experiences or ideas related to phenomenon to
increase their own awareness of their underlying feelings.
 Phenomenology is different in that the researcher is often
participatory and the other participants are co-researchers in many
cases.
 This type of research focuses on the wholeness of
the experience, rather than its individual parts.
 Phenomenology differs from other research in
that it does not test a hypothesis, nor is there an
expectation that the results predictive or
reproducible. Additional studies into the same
phenomenon often reveal new and additional
meanings.
 The study can be applied to a single case or
deliberately selected samples.
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH STUDY
TYPICALLY FOLLOWS THE FOUR STEPS
LISTED BELOW:
BRACKETING

The process of identifying, and keeping in check,

any preconceived beliefs, opinions or notions about
the phenomenon being researched. In this process,
the researcher “brackets out” any presuppositions in
an effect to approach the study of the phenomenon
from an unbiased perspective. Bracketing is
important to phenomenological reduction, which is
the process of isolating the phenomenon and
separating it from what is already known about it.
INTUITION

This requires that the researcher become totally

immersed in the study and the phenomenon
and that the researcher remains open to the meaning
of the phenomenon as described by thosethat
experienced it. The process of intuition results in an
understanding of the phenomenon
and may require the researcher to vary the data
collection methods or questions until that
level of understanding emerges.
ANALYSIS

The process of analysing data involves the

researcher becoming full immersed into the rich,
descriptive data and using processes such as coding
and categorizing to organize the
data. The goal is to develop themes that can be used
to describe the experience from the
perspective of those that lived it
DESCRIPTION

This is the last phase of the process. The researcher

will use his or her understanding of the data to
describe and define the phenomenon and
communicate it to others.
STRENGTHS OF PHENOMENOLOGY:

 Seeks to find the universal nature of an experience

and can provide a deeper understanding.
 The themes and meanings of an experience
emerge from the data. The qualitative nature of
phenomenology allows the researcher to notice
trends and look at the big picture. The data is not
fit into a statistical test that confines or restricts the
interpretation.
 Helps to understand a lived experience and brings
meaning to it. This may contribute to the development of
new theories, changes in policies or changes in responses.

 Results may help expose misconceptions about an

experience. It may be a means to have the voices of the
participants heard which may prompt action or at least
challenge pre-conceived notions and complacency.
LIMITATIONS OF PHENOMENOLOGY:
 The research participants must be able to articulate their
thoughts and feelings about the experience being studied. It
may be difficult for them to express themselves due to
language barriers, age, cognition, embarrassment and other
factors.
 Phenomenology requires researcher interpretation, making
phenomenological reduction an important component to
reduce biases, assumptions, and pre-conceived ideas about an
experience or phenomenon. Researcher bias is difficult to
determine or detect.
 Results are not statistically reliable, even with a larger
sample size. It does not produce generalizable data.
 It may be difficult to gain access to participants.

 Presentation of findings may be difficult. The

subjectivity of the data may lead to difficulty in
establishing reliability and validity.
 Policy makers may give less credibility to
phenomenological study.
 Gathering data and data analysis may be time
consuming and laborious
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