626.354.8193
Phenomenology
Analysis produced by phenomenological investigation
Francesca Nesfield
Marsha Nickerson
Phenomenology
A QUALITATIVE APPROACH
What is Phenomenology?
Phenomenology is a qualitative method used to give voice to human experiences. Based on the foundation of philosophy and psychology, Edmund Husserl influenced phenomenology as it is known today. With a central focus on lifeworld, a term coined by Husserl emphasizing, "everyday experiences that we live and which we reflect upon" (Bloor & Woods, 2011). A primary goal of this method is to describe rather than explain and provide a perspective free from preconceived hypotheses and perceptions (Lester, 1999).
Types of Phenomenology
​
Transcendental (Descriptive)
Describes an experience and seeks to change an aspect of the phenomenon to later evaluate it.
Hermenuetic (Interpretive)
Develops a holistic view of an experience by evaluating the meaning of a situation placed upon it by those who experienced a significant event.
Phenomenography (within the Interpretivist paradigm)
Explores the various ways people experience or think about a particular experience.
How is Phenomenology Used?
Phenomenology in a qualitative approach that can be combined with other qualitative approaches or a quantitative approach. The phenomenology method is used to expose human experiences and go beyond the surface for deep insights (Lester,1999). As information arise common themes may occur that will need to be coded. The data received may not fit into assumed categories and new themes may develop (Lester, 1999). For example, Campbell's (2012) study initially found six themes and later unveiled an additional seven.
Campbell, A. (2012). The phenomenological study of ESL students in a project-based learning environment. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6(11), 139-146.
Bloor, M. & Wood, F.(2011) Phenomenological methods. In Keywords in qualitative methods. (pp.129-130). Location: London. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849209403
Lester, S. (1999). An introduction to phenomenological research. Stan Lester Developments, Taunton. http://www.sld.demon.co.uk/resmethy.pdf.
When Should Phenomenology be Used?
Phenomenology is a design that best fits research problems that are unstructured, and for which there is little or no research or evidence in the literature. Given the explosive growth in doctoral level scholarship in the last decade, encountering problems like this is less common than one might think. Most major social or organizational problems have already attracted considerable empirical investigation, and even minor problems have probably been investigated at some level, (Goes, 2013)
