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By Linda Finlay Phenomenology is an umbrella term encompassing both a philosophical movement and a range of research approaches. The phenomenological movement was initiated by Husserl (1 !"#1 $%& as a radically new way of doing philosophy. Later theorists' such as Heidegger (1 ($#1 "(&' have recast the phenomenological pro)ect' moving away from a philosophical discipline which focuses on consciousness and essences of phenomena towards elaborating e*istential and hermeneutic (interpretive& dimensions. This paper outlines ways phenomenological philosophy is applied to research covering the following in turn+ Foundational concepts for research ,ariants of phenomenology -athering and analysing phenomenological data .valuating the /uality of phenomenological research
and social world rather than some inner world of introspection. 3There is no inner man ?sic@'5 6erleau7Ponty famously e*plains' 3man is in the world' and only in the world does he 4now himself.5 (1 "(' *i&. Phenomenological theorists posit there are certain essential features of the life world' such as a person1s sense of selfhood' embodiment' sociality' spatiality' temporality' pro)ect' discourse and mood7as7atmosphere (0shworth' (%%!' (%%"&. These interlin4ed 2fractions1 (0shworth' (%%!& act as a lens through which to view the data. The tas4 of the researcher is to bring out these dimensions and show the structural whole that is socially shared while also e*perienced in individual and particular ways. 3The overall aim of lifeworld research5' says Aahlberg et al ((%%=' p.!$& is 3to describe and elucidate the lived world in a way that e*pands our understanding of human being and human e*perience.5 ;n the life7world' a person1s consciousness is always directed at something in or about the world. Bonsciousness is always consciousness of something. Chen we are conscious of something (an 2ob)ect1& we are in relation to it and it means something to us. ;n this way' sub)ect (us& and ob)ect are )oined together in mutual co7constitution. This important phenomenological concept is called intentionality and it is a 4ey focus for research. ;n research' the researcher1s aim is to e*plicate this intentionality to do with the directedness of participants1 consciousness (what they are e*periencing and how&. Put another way' the focus is on the intentional relationship between the person and the meanings of the things they1re focusing on and e*periencing. For e*ample' one significant finding in research on one woman1s lived e*perience of having multiple sclerosis (Finlay' (%%!a& was how she was profoundly concerned about the impact on her relationship with her children. Dpecifically' she was distressed by the numbness in her hands which meant that she could no longer do the 3mummy thing5 and feel the softness of childrens1 s4in properly. The intentional' embodied relationship between a mother and her children was highlighted. Phenomenology as4s' 3Chat is this 4ind of e*perience li4eE5' 3Chat does the e*perience mean5' 3How does the lived world present itself to me (or to my participant&E5 The challenge for phenomenological researchers is twofold+ how to help participants e*press their world as directly as possible> and how to e*plicate these dimensions such that the lived world : the life world 7 is revealed. 6eanings uncovered by the researcher emerge out of the researcher1s attitude and way the researcher poses /uestions. ;n particular' the researcher aims to 2bracket1 or suspend previous assumptions or understandings in order to be open to the phenomenon as it appears. This brac4eting process is often misunderstood and misrepresented as being an effort to be ob)ective and unbiased. ;nstead' the researcher aims to be open to and see the world differently. The process involves putting aside how things supposedly are' focusing instead on how they are e*perienced. Husserl (1 1!#1 !1& originally identified several variants of 2brac4eting1. 0pplied to research' these involve+
i.
ii. iii.
the epoche of the natural sciences where the researcher abstains from theories' e*planations' scientific conceptualisation and 4nowledge in order to return to the natural attitude of the prescientific lifeworld (i.e. return to the unreflective apprehensionof the lived' everyday world&. The phenomenological psychological reduction where belief in the e*istence of what presents itself in the lifeworld is suspended. ;nstead the focus is on the sub)ective appearances and meanings. Husserl1s transcendental phenomenological reduction 7 a more radical version of the epoche where a 2-od1s eye view1 is attempted : tends to be re)ected as unrealistic by contemporary researchers.
Variants of phenomenology
Phenomenological researchers today face a rich diversity of empirical approaches from which to choose. Fust as there are many variants of phenomenological philosophy under the rubric of the broad movement (6oran' (%%%&' there are many ways it has been operationalised in research. The competing visions of how to do phenomenology stem from different philosophical values' theoretical preferences as well as methodological procedures. Aifferent forms are demanded according to the type of phenomenon under investigation and the 4ind of 4nowledge the researcher see4s. Gather than being fi*ed in stone' the different phenomenological approaches are dynamic and undergoing constant development as the field of /ualitative research as a whole evolves. 3The fle*ibility of phenomenological research and the adaptability of its methods to ever widening arcs of in/uiry is one of its greatest strengths5 (-ar<a' (%%$' p.!!=&. The emergence of phenomenological research was led by -iorgi and the Au/uesne Bircle in the 1 $%1s (Cert<' (%%9&. -iorgi1s pro)ect was to develop a rigorous descriptive empirical phenomenology inspired by Husserlian ideas aiming to study 2essential structures1 or 2essences of phenomena as they appear in consciousness1(-iorgi' 1 =9> -iorgi' 1 8> -iorgi and -iorgi' (%%!&. ;n Husserlian terms' the intuition of essence (also called the eidectic reduction& descriptively mar4s out the invariant characteristics of a phenomenon and its meanings. The phenomenologist starts with a concrete e*ample of the phenomenon under investigation and imaginatively varies it in different ways in order to distinguish essential features from those that are particular' accidental or incidental. ,ariations of this phenomenological method have since evolved. For e*ample' different versions or schools have emerged which focus more e*plicitly on the lifeworld (0shworth' (%%!> Aahlberg et al' (%%=& and lived e*perience ( van 6anen' 1 1&. Hermeneutic variants highlight the researcher1s role and hori<ons of interpretation such as in the Geflective Lifeworld 0pproach (Aalhlberg et al ((%%=&' ;nterpretative Phenomenological 0nalysis (;P0& (Dmith and Hsborne' (%%!&' .mbodied .n/uiry (Todres' (%%$&' Britical Iarrative 0nalysis (BI0&(Langdridge' (%%$& and in the Aallas1 approach to phenomenological research (-ar<a' (%%$&. Cith the heuristic approach adopted by 6ousta4as (1 %&' the researcher1s role in self7 reflection towards producing a creative synthesis to e*plicate lived e*perience is
brought to the fore. ;n relational research approaches (Finlay and .vans' (%% Forthcoming&' attention is paid to the researcher1s )ourney and the research process focusing on how data emerges out of embodied dialogical encounters between researchers and co7researchers. Hne variant of such relational research is the dialogal research approach (described by Halling and Leifer' 1 1 and Gowe et al 1 = & where groups of phenomenologists investigate a phenomenon' dwelling in and negotiating layered meanings together. The information indented below illustrates something of the variations in approach by showing how research /uestions' focus and methods vary subtly. For e*ample' if si* phenomenologists' each utilising a different method' were researching the e*perience of 2feeling lost1' they might phrase their research /uestion along the following lines+
0 descriptive empirical phenomenologist might well as4+ 2Chat is the lived e*perience of feeling lostE1 They might compare the protocols (written descriptions& offered by participants about one instance of feeling lost and attempt to identify the essential or general structures underlying the phenomenon of feeling lost. The heuristic researcher could well focus more intensely on the /uestion+ 2Chat is my e*perience of feeling lostE1 Chile they might draw on a range of data from stories' poems' artwor4' literature' )ournals' they would also loo4 inward' attending to their own feelings#e*periences by using a reflective diary. They would aim to produce a composite description and creative synthesis of the e*perience. 0 lifeworld researcher would as4 2Chat is the lifeworld of one who feels lostE1 Bollecting and analysing interview data' they would focus on e*istential themes such as the person1s sense of self7identity and embodied relations with others when e*periencing a feeling of being lost. The IPA researcher would focus on 2Chat is the individual e*perience of feeling lostE1 They would aim to capture individual variations between co7researchers. Thematic analysis would involve some e*plicit interpretation on the part of both co7researcher and researcher. The Critical Narrative Approach researcher would as4 2Chat story or stories does a person tell of their e*perience of feeling lostE1 having interviewed perhaps )ust one person. The analysis would be focused on the narrative produced and how it was co7created in the research conte*t. The Relational researcher might similarly interview )ust one person as4ing as4 2Chat is it li4e to feel lostE1. They might focus on the co7researchers1 self7identity and 2creative ad)ustment1 (their sense of self' their being7in7the7world and the defensive way they1ve learned to cope&. The research data would be seen to be co7created in the dialogical research encounter and the relational dynamics between researcher and co7researchers would be refle*ively e*plored.
0ll the variants of phenomenology above share a similar focus on describing lived e*perience and recognising the significance of our embodied' intersub)ective lifeworld. -iorgi (1 = & indicates certain core characteristics hold across the variations' namely that the research is descriptive' e*plores the intentional relationship between persons and situations' uses phenomenological reductions and provides 4nowledge of psychological essences or structures of meanings immanent in
1
The reductions being referred to here include the epoche and the phenomenological psychological reduction (two processes of brac4eting& and the eidetic reduction.
human e*perience through imaginative variation (Cert<' (%%9&. Hther phenomenologists argue that the pro)ect to identify essences and to use phenomenological reductions may be less central. Dome methodologies' for e*ample the e*plicitly hermeneutic and idiographic approach of ;P0' downplays (or even re)ects& these features.
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intuition. For instance' using the analytical method suggested by Cert< (1 =!& and -iorgi (1 =9&' systematic readings of the transcript are underta4en by first dwelling on the phenomenon (through empathetic immersion and reflection&' then describing emergent psychological structures (i.e.' constituents and recurrent themes&. ;n contrast' with dialogal analysis (Gowe et al' 1 = &' researchers prefer to use open' spontaneous' fluid dialogue in a group conte*t rather than adhering to any e*plicit procedures. Chichever the approach' researchers are involved in 3an e*treme form of care that savors the situations described in a slow' meditative way and attends to' even magnifies' all the details5 Cert< ((%%9' p.1$(&. 3Phenomenological understanding is distinctly e*istential' emotive' enactive' embodied' situational' and nontheoretic> a powerful phenomenological te*t thrives on a certain irrevocable tension between what is uni/ue and what is shared' between particular and transcendent meaning' and between the reflective and the prereflective spheres of the lifeworld.5 (van 6anen' 1 $' p.!89&. To manage these tensions researchers may engage in refle*ive analysis (Finlay' (%%!' (%%9& moving bac4 and forth in a 4ind of dialectic between e*perience and awareness> between studying the parts and the whole. 0s Hert< (1 $& puts it' KTo be refle*ive is to have an ongoing conversation about the e*perience while simultaneously living in the momentK (p. viii&. 0s researchers' we need to strive' e*plicitly' to understand some of the connections by which sub)ect and ob)ect influence and co7constitute each other. Ce need to ac4nowledge both our e*perience and our e*periencing as researchers as well as be focused on the Hther and their e*perience and e*periencing. The precise form an analysis of research findings ta4es varies considerably. Hften researchers will aim to identify significant themes or narratives emerging from the data. .ach type of analysis and way of presenting the data simultaneously reveals and conceals. Aifferent analyses highlight particular nuances and indicate various immanent possibilities of meaning as figural against a ground of other possible meanings. However rich and comprehensive' any one analysis is' inevitably' incomplete' partial' tentative' emergent' open and uncertain. The analytical process invariably involves a process of reflective writing and rewriting. This process aims to create depth+ multiple layers of meaning are crafted to lay bare certain truths while retaining the ambiguity of e*perience. To write phenomenologically is to write poetically' says van 6anen. ;t is the 3untiring effort to author a sensitive grasp of being itself.5 (van 6anen' 1 %' p.1!(&. Chatever method of writing up is used' the 4ey is to try to capture the comple*ity and ambiguity of the lived world being described. ,edder ((%%(' pp.(%"7(%$&' drawing on -adamer1s hermeneutics' describes of how metaphors can create meaning and so have the capacity to represent being+ 3;n metaphor it is thus not about describing what is on hand in an empirical reality' but rather about ma4ing visible in a being something that was not previously seenJThe poem produces the imageJa coming to be of an e*pression and a coming to be of being.5
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Linda Finlay' 6arch' (%%=