Phenomenology: Understanding Lived Human Experience

Chapter 11 Phenomenology Usher K and Jackson D. (2014). In: Mills J and Birks M (eds) Qualitative methodologies: A practical guide. London: Sage Publications

Learning objectives Outline the philosophical underpinnings of phenomenology Identify the key philosophers involved in its development Describe the different types of phenomenology Discuss the role of the researcher undertaking a phenomenological study Describe the strategies for data generation and analysis Outline some of the ways that phenomenological research findings can be presented

Introduction Careful and systematic reflective study of the lived experience Proponents of phenomenology share an interest in understanding what it is like to be human and what constitutes out lived world (Smith et al., 2009) Both a philosophy and a methodology

Introduction Characteristics of lived experience that differentiate it from other types of qualitative research that focus on human experience: Reflection on the lived experience is free from theoretical, prejudicial and suppositional intoxications (van Manen, 2007) Experience is examined as it actually occurs and on its own terms (Smith et al., 2009)

History of the methodology Evolved from late 19thand throughout the 20th century Countenance to positivistic scientific thought Originated in Germany, spread across Europe then Asia, North America and other continents

History of the methodology Early work: Brentano (1838-1917) & Stumpf (1848-1936) Notion of intentionality main focus of early philosophers Intentionality consciousness is always conscious of something

History of the methodology Intentionality infers a reaching out of one s consciousness to interact with objects and concepts as a means of relating to the world (Crotty, 1996) Intentionality subscribing a questioning and/or theorizing nature to the world, so that actors become more a part of the world under observation (Moustakas, 1994)

Philosophical underpinnings Husserl (1857-1938) considered the originator Developed transcendental phenomenology Husserl considers that phenomenology is the way knowledge comes into being in the consciousness, which helps to clarify assumptions underlying all human understandings of the everyday world (Adams and van Manen, 2008)

Philosophical underpinnings Understanding how individuals come to know their own experience of a phenomenon, allows them to identify the essential qualities of that experience A phenomenological stance turns to the activity and attends to the taken-for-granted experience

Philosophical underpinnings Eidetic description determines the essential nature and acts of consciousness Eidetic reduction/bracketing/epoche key element of Husserlian phenomenology Eidetic reduction/bracketing/epoche means to put aside the taken-for-granted world to focus on the perception of the world

Philosophical underpinnings Heidegger (1889-1976) focused on hermeneutics Recognizes that human existence is embedded in a world of meanings Phenomenology becomes hermeneutical when its method becomes interpretive rather than purely descriptive as is the case in transcendental phenomenology

Philosophical underpinnings Heidegger contends that all description is already an interpretation Central to Heidegger s hermeneutic phenomenology is the notion of dasein being-there / of being in the world Heidegger rejected Husserl s notion of bracketing

Philosophical underpinnings Heidegger believed that in order to understand a phenomenon the person must first of all have their own knowledge or experience of the phenomenon Ricoeur and Gadamer also pivotal to the development of hermeneutic phenomenology

Philosophical underpinnings: Key concepts Being in the world: Humans as questioning beings Embodiment: bodily knowledge of the world that all our understanding of the world is based on our perceptions and our initial awareness of the object Lifeworld: life as we experience it rather than as we conceptualize it

Philosophical underpinnings: Key concepts Reduction: describes the phenomenological process that permits us to discover an experiential understanding of the lifeworld Lived experience: pre-reflective understandings of the world as we experience it prior to putting language to it Bracketing: a neutral stance, without believing or disbelieving in the existence of a phenomenon

Philosophical underpinnings: Key concepts Verstehen (understanding): occurs through sharing common meaning, culture and language as it is lived The phenomenological nod: a form of validation when a person reads a phenomenological description and thinks this is an experience I could have (Van der Zalm and Bergum, 2000)

Positioning of the researcher Transforming information provided by participants as research partners A reflective stance Research question arises from who the researcher is professionally and personally Self-awareness and perceptiveness

Positioning of the researcher Researcher is a writer Craft of writing is central to this research design Writer s performance will be judged by the presence (or not) of the participants phenomenological nod (Van der Zalm and Bergum, 2000)

Aligning philosophy and methodology with purpose Selection of phenomenology should be driven by the research question There are various approaches to phenomenology and each will inform the methods of a particular study The study of the lived experience should be prominent in the research question

Data generation and collection Aim is to generate understanding into the essential nature of a particular phenomenon Knowing the experience is through people who have first-hand lived the experience of the phenomenon of interest Allow adequate time for recruitment processes Recruitment continues until no new data is being revealed (data saturation)

Data generation and collection Audio-taped interviews most common form of data collection participant diaries may also be used Interviews generally in-depth and semi- structured or framed as focused conversations Interviews generally range from 45-90 minutes Interviews transcribed into text an this becomes the data for analysis

Data generation and collection In all contexts it is important, however even more so in the context of a multi-cultural environment to: focus on being respectful listen actively use various forms of questioning speak clearly allow enough time for participants to fully respond to questions be comfortable with silence

Analysis of data Stage in the research process in which the essence of the phenomenon of interest may be understood and represented (Priest, 2000) Often only briefly referred to in published journal articles Number of approaches to phenomenological data analysis available van Manen (1990), Moustakas (1994), Creswell (2007)

Analysis of data Regardless of approach analysis begins with close and repeated engagement with data (Miller, 2002; Liamputtong, 2010) Text organized into units, noteworthy phrases identified, units transformed into meanings (concepts or themes) and linked to form a deep description (Miller, 2002; Priest, 2002)

Analysis of data van Manen s guidelines for phenomenological analysis (1990: 30-31). (NB: not intended as a prescriptive, linear procedure) Guideline Turning to a phenomenon of interest Investigating the experience as we live it rather than as we conceptualise it Reflecting on the essential themes which characterise the phenomenon Describing the phenomenon through the art of writing and re-writing Maintaining a strong and oriented relation to the phenomenon Balancing the research context by considering the parts and the whole

Quality and rigor Strategies such as: stating presuppositions member checking achieving representativeness

Quality and rigor Member-checking involves going back to participants to ensure that analysis is a legitimate representation of the phenomenon Debated issue Participant s multiple realities Breaches of confidentiality Potential of distress when participants read accounts of their experiences

Quality and rigor Framework of expressions (de Witt and Ploeg, 2006: 227) for establishing rigor in interpretive phenomenology: Balanced integration Openness Concreteness Resonance Actualization

Quality and rigor Preference for individual researcher decisions for individual studies (Rolfe, 2006) Phenomenology is a philosophy and a method, which attracts ongoing scholarly discourse Ongoing attention ensures that phenomenology as a method continues to develop and strategies to ensure rigor continue to be refined

Presentation and dissemination of findings Series of themes or motifs Excerpts of participants narratives support themes Balance between philosophical aspects of the method and the actual findings of the study

Summary Phenomenology is appropriate when the aims of the study are to gain insight into the lived experience of a phenomenon Eight key concepts related to philosophical underpinnings Position of the researcher as writer Interviewing most common method of data collection Phenomenology is a philosophy and a method

References Adams C and van Manen M. (2008) Phenomenology. In: Given L (ed) The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 614-619. Creswell J. (2007) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Choosing among five approaches, Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publications. Crotty M. (1996) Phenomenology and Nursing Research, Melbourne: Livingstone. De Witt L and Ploeg J. (2006) Critical appraisal of rigor in interpretive phenomenological nursing research. Journal of Advanced Nursing 55: 215-229. Miller S. (2002) Analysis of phenomenological data generated with children as research participants. Nurse Researcher 10: 68-82. Liamputtong P. (2010) Research methods in health: Foundations for evidence-based practice, Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

References Moustakas C. (1994) Phenomenological research methods, London: Sage Publications. Priest H. (2002) An approach to the phenomenological analysis of data. Nurse Researcher 10: 50-63. Rolfe G. (2006) Validity, trustworthiness and rigour: quality and the idea of qualitative research. Journal of Advanced Nursing 53: 304-310. Smith JA, Flower P and Larkin M. (2009a) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research., London: Sage. Van der Zalm JE and Bergum V. (2000) Hermeneutic-phenomenology: providing living knowledge for nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing 31: 211-218. van Manen M. (1990) Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive Pedagogy, Michigan, USA.: The Althouse Press.