DEPARTMENT Research

Understanding
Phenomenological
Approaches to Data Analysis
Lois Phillips-Pula, MS, RN, Julie Strunk, MS, RN, &
Rita H. Pickler, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, FAAN

KEY WORDS Phenomenological methods are often chosen be-

Phenomenology, qualitative research, data analysis, method- cause of a researcherÕs philosophical or methodological
ology congruence with the nuances of the approach. The dif-
fering phenomenological designs and approaches to
data analysis, however,
In pediatric nursing, where care often includes not may perplex readers
only the child but also the family, qualitative research
Phenomenological
and lead to confusion
has enabled nurses to better understand patient- when researchers fail methods are often
family experiences from the perspective of those living to elucidate the ratio- chosen because of
them. One method of qualitative research validated in nale for their choices
current pediatric literature is phenomenology.
a researcherÕs
or the analytic steps
taken. Thus readers philosophical or
should have an under- methodological
standing of various congruence with
Section Editor phenomenological ap-
Rita H. Pickler, PhD, RN, PNP, FAAN proaches. This article the nuances of the
Virginia Commonwealth University will compare four phe- approach.
School of Nursing nomenological ap-
Richmond, Virginia proaches by Moustakas, Colaizzi, Giorgi, and van
Kaam to data analysis commonly found in research re-
Lois Phillips-Pula is PhD Student, School of Nursing, Virginia ports.
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
Julie Strunk is PhD Student, School of Nursing, Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. PHENOMENOLOGY AS A RESEARCH METHOD
Rita H. Pickler is Nursing Alumni Endowed Professor, Acting
Phenomenology is rooted in the philosophical traditions
Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, and Professor, of Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). He is considered the
Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, School of father of modern phenomenology and is one of the
Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. most influential philosophers of the 20th century.
Conflicts of interest: None to report. Husserl believed that by achieving a transcendental
Correspondence: Lois Phillips-Pula, MS, RN, 1100 E Leigh St, Box
state, a researcher could move beyond normal bounds
980567, Richmond, VA 23225; e-mail: phillipspull@vcu.edu. and identify both conscious and unconscious a priori
beliefs and biases (Husserl, 1970). The identification
J Pediatr Health Care. (2011) 25, 67-71.
and acknowledgement of these beliefs is referred to as
0891-5245/$36.00 the ‘‘epoche process.’’ Husserl believed that imaginative
Copyright Q 2011 by the National Association of Pediatric variation, the acceptance of descriptions of the experi-
Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights ence exactly as related by study participants, assisted re-
reserved.
searchersÕ efforts to grasp the essence of an experience.
doi:10.1016/j.pedhc.2010.09.004 He also taught that intentionality, that is, the act of being

www.jpedhc.org January/February 2011 67

present in a situation, contains both a noema (percep-
tion) and a noesis (meaning), and that establishing
inter-subjectivity with participants prepared a researcher
to step into their experiential shoes (Husserl, 1970;
Moustakas, 1994). HusserlÕs focus was on meanings
and identifying the essence or central theme of an
experience as a way of furthering knowledge.
Three general types of phenomenology have
emerged: transcendental, existential, and hermeneutic.
Transcendental phenomenology focuses on the essential
meanings of the individual experience. For example,
a qualitative question that could be asked if using
transcendental phenomenology would be, ‘‘What is the
essence of the experi-
ence of being the parent Moustakas
of a child who has Au- recommended that
tistic Spectrum Disorder
(ASD)?’’ On the other phenomenologists
hand, existential phe- ask the following
nomenology focuses questions: What
on the nature of the re-
ality that holds the con- are the individualsÕ
cept or phenomenon experiences, and in
together. An existential what context did
question would be,
‘‘How do parents of they experience
children with ASD un- them?
derstand and perceive
the nature of their realities?’’ Finally, hermeneutic phe-
nomenology examines the structure and interpretation
of texts and focuses on language and communication
(Douglas & Moustakas, 1985). A question that could be
asked from a hermeneutic position would be, ‘‘What
does it mean to interpret experience through creating
and reading blogs about having a child with ASD?’’
Regardless of the approach, the first research step is
to develop a question concerning the phenomenon of
interest. The second step involves identifying a sample
of appropriate and willing study participants. Data are
then generated by observing or interviewing partici-
pants or through their written descriptions of the
phenomenon. Finally, the data are analyzed using
a process of coding and categorizing, and findings are
presented as a description or interpretation as de-
scribed below and outlined in the Table.
DATA ANALYSIS APPROACHES
Clark Moustakas (1923-), a transcendentalist and fol-
lower of Husserl, identified analytic steps that
structured and balanced both the objective and subjec-
tive approaches to knowledge (Moerer-Urdahl &
Creswell, 2004; Moustakas, 1994; Sela-Smith, 2002).
Moustakas recommended that phenomenologists ask
the following questions: What are the individualsÕ
experiences, and in what context did they experience
them? His approach focuses on the wholeness of the
experience and its essence, or truth (Moustakas,
68 Volume 25  Number 1
1994). For Moustakas, the phenomenological approach
involves returning to the experience to obtain compre-
hensive descriptions that become the basis for accu-
rately portraying the essence of the experience. The
researcher refrains from making suppositions and in-
stead focuses on the topic freshly and naively with the
results providing the basis for further reflection and re-
search (Moustakas, 1994). The epoche process is used
to identify and acknowledge a priori thoughts on the
topic and helps to ensure that the researcherÕs precon-
ceived biases are not allowed to overshadow the essen-
tial descriptions. A review of current literature follows,
noting design, methods, and findings of previous stud-
ies. From this review, a plan is developed to find and
contact suitable study participants. In the next step,
known as transcendental phenomenological reduc-
tion, each experience is considered as a distinct unit
particular to a study participant. Overlapping or redun-
dant statements are identified. The product of this re-
duction is the formation of textural and structural
descriptions. Imaginative variation follows and is con-
cerned with using the imagination, the senses, and
memory to unite what is known with what is being stud-
ied. The final step involves constructing meanings and
essences by differentiating the multiple realities ex-
pressed by study participants and integrating textural
and structural descriptions from the essence of what is
known individually to the essence of what is known
by all (Moerer-Urdahl & Creswell, 2004). MoustakasÕs
method has been found to be systematic, easily used,
and easily understood (Moerer-Urdahl & Creswell,
2004; Omery, 1983).
Paul Colaizzi (1938-) believed that his goal as a phe-
nomenologist was to accurately describe phenomena
as seen through the eyes of study participants
(Colaizzi, 1978). He asserted that all research occurred
through dialogue and that asking the right question
was tantamount to eliciting an accurate description of
the experience from study participants. Colaizzi identi-
fied seven procedural steps to data analysis. The first
consists of reading and re-reading descriptions of the
data to acquire a general feeling for the experience. In
step two, the researcher extracts the significant state-
ments pertaining to the phenomenon. The third step
consists of formulating meanings to make clear that
which is hidden. The themes are clustered and vali-
dated with the original text to identify experiences com-
mon to all participants. The fourth step involves
generating overarching themes or meanings. At this
point, steps one through three are repeated for each
participantÕs data. Contradictory themes are not ig-
nored but rather are studied for their relevance to the
topic (Knaack, 1984). Step five involves integrating
the themes into an exhaustive description including
bridging gaps in the data through the use of intuitive un-
derstanding and coding segments of text according to
topic (Wojnar & Swanson, 2007). Step six involves
Journal of Pediatric Health Care
www.jpedhc.org

TABLE. Comparison of phenomenological methods

Phenomenologist (reference)
Colaizzi (1978)
Giorgi (1985)
Moustakas (1994)
January/February 2011
Philosophy
Follower of Merleau-Ponty: the primacy of perception
 What we see should teach us to comprehend the seen rather than
allowing the seen to determine our seeing
 Perception should be critically interrogated because we have all
been taught how to see, hear, and feel
 Phenomenological reflection aims at a descriptive understanding
of psychological phenomena by reflectively disclosing meaning
 The phenomenologist is satisfied with his descriptive method which
provides him with identification of psychological phenomena because,
at the core of his approach towards himself, the world and others,
he is content to understandingly dwell
Follower of Husserl: phenomenological reduction to make research
findings more precise
 During reduction, the researcher brackets personal knowledge about the
phenomenon and accepts precisely what is stated by each participant
 The use of description allows the researcher to use language to articulate
the experience by including explanation, construction and interpretation
 The search for the essence, according to Husserl, allows the
researcher to present findings to others
 The essence is that which holds the parts or aspects of the
phenomenon together
Follower of Husserl: subjective openness
 Transcendental phenomenology relying on intentionality
(the internal experience of being conscious of something)
 Noema: ‘‘perceived as such’’
 Noesis: ‘‘the intentional processes’’
 Intuition: the beginning place in deriving knowledge of human
experiences, free of everyday sense impressions and the natural attitude
 Identified a priori knowledge with the intuition of pure essences
 Two central questions that Moustakas asks: (1) What are their
experiences? (2) In what context or situations did they experience it?
Research method for data analysis
1. Read and reread participantÕs descriptions of the phenomenon
2. Return to original transcripts and extract significant statements
3. Seek meanings of significant statements and cluster themes using
original text to validate
4. Using themes, generate overarching meanings
5. Code segments according to topic and develop an exhaustive description
6. Construct a statement from the exhaustive description and solicit input
from participants to validate
7. If new data are revealed during the validation, incorporate changes
and reproduce the statement
1. Read and reread descriptions of experience to get a sense of the whole
2. Divide descriptions into meaning units by identifying significant terms
3. Describe the meaning of each unit and relate each to the topic of study
4. Synthesize units into a consistent description of the phenomenon
5. Analyze the transformed units focusing on intentionality of co-researchers
6. Develop a description of the common experience
1. Discover a topic and question rooted in an experience or phenomenon
2. Conduct a comprehensive review of the professional and research literature
3. Construct a set of criteria to locate appropriate co-researchers
4. Provide co-researchers with instructions on the nature and purpose
of the investigation
5. Develop a set of questions or topics to guide the interview process
6. Conduct and report a lengthy person-to-person interview that
focuses on a bracketed topic and question
7. Organize and analyze the data to facilitate development of
structural meanings and essences

van Kaam (1966) Follower of Husserl: actual reality is the reality in which one lives, 1. Explore the experience and identify a research question
moves and ‘‘is’’ 2. Identify component parts of experience and randomly sample various
 Relevant research is that which explores, describes, and empirically participants explanations
tests human behavior while preserving a ‘‘lived’’ relationship with 3. Reduce data, eliminating overlap begin to cluster or classify
it in the reality of life responses according to theme
 The empirical phenomenological approach involves a return to experience 4. Continue process until saturation occurs
in order to obtain descriptions that provide the basis for a reflective 5. Construct an explanation of the experience from the data
structural analysis that can then portray the essences of the experience which answers the research question
 This approach seeks to disclose and elucidate the phenomena of
behavior as it manifests itself in its perceived immediacy
69
paring down the exhaustive description into a statement
of the phenomenon, which is then validated by study
participants in step seven. This final step allows the
researcher to incorporate changes based on partici-
pantsÕ feedback and to present themes representing
the universal features of the phenomenon (Colaizzi,
1978; Knaack, 1984; Wojnar & Swanson, 2007). The
outcome of this approach is a description of the
experience, developed through the essential themes
(Colaizzi, 1978). Although ColaizziÕs data analysis
approach is helpful and informative, it has several
limitations, including data analysis based on broad
comparisons of data and a requirement for results to
be validated by study participants (Omery, 1983).
Amadeo Giorgi (1931-) is a humanistic research phi-
losopher who maintained that research methodology
should be adapted to the phenomenon under study
(Elkins, 2009). Giorgi asserted that conventional re-
search methods were not helpful in the search for
authenticity and that studies attempting to capture the
human experience should begin with phenomenology,
allowing the phenomena to speak for themselves
(Moustakas, 1994). Giorgi aligned himself with and
adopted the French philosopher Merleau-PontyÕs
position concerning phenomenological research, in-
cluding its descriptive nature; the need to adopt the
co-researchersÕ (study participantsÕ) descriptions rather
than the researcherÕs philosophical stance; the accep-
tance of the experience exactly as stated, without inter-
pretation; the search for essences, the unchangeable
characteristics of the experience; and the focus on the
intentionality of the co-researcher (DeCastro, 2003;
Giorgo, 2006). In this approach, co-researchersÕ de-
scriptions need to be as precise and comprehensive
as possible. Additionally, the use of reduction or brack-
eting provides a way for the researcher to set aside a pri-
ori biases, theories, beliefs, thoughts, or judgments.
GiorgiÕs approach to data analysis involves four steps.
Step one, the familiarization step, emphasizes the
necessity of reading the ‘‘protocol,’’ or interview tran-
script, until the meanings expressed by the co-
researchers become evident. This step helps ensure
that any a priori thoughts of the researcher do not over-
ride the co-researcherÕs description (DeCastro, 2003).
Step two involves dividing the descriptions into mean-
ing units by identifying the significant terms used by co-
researchers. This step enables the researcher to view
the data in a more manageable form. Step three calls
for the researcher to describe the meaning of each
unit while protecting the context and to relate those
meanings to the topic of study. This step introduces
HusserlÕs concept of imaginative variation, which
allows the researcher to consider all descriptions of
the experience that are germane to the topic and on
which there is co-researcher agreement. The units
found to be unrelated to the current topic are discarded
during this step. In step four, the researcher synthesizes
70 Volume 25  Number 1
the transformed units into a consistent description of
the phenomenon. This step enables the researcher to
proceed to step five, a final analysis of the transformed
units that is true to the intentionality of the co-
researchers. This step culminates in a description of
the common experience that becomes the essence of
the phenomenon. GiorgiÕs approach to data analysis in-
volves gathering data over several sessions through
lengthy interviews. Because of the length of his inter-
view process, the sample is often quite small (Omery,
1983; Giorgi, 1997).
Adrian van Kaam (1920-2007) was a transcendentalist
and a follower of Husserl. He believed that actual reality
was the reality in which individuals live, move, and are
(van Kaam, 1966). van Kaam believed that relevant
research explored, described, and empirically tested
human behavior while preserving a ‘‘lived’’ relation-
ship. In van KaamÕs
empirical phenomeno- van Kaam believed
logical approach, the
first step involves
that relevant
obtaining comprehen- research explored,
sive descriptions from described, and
participants that pro-
vide a basis for reflec-
empirically tested
tive structural analysis human behavior
(van Kaam, 1966) and while preserving
from which the re-
search question is eli-
a ‘‘lived’’
cited (Omery, 1983; relationship.
van Kaam, 1966). The
next step then uses scientific explanation to
randomize sample explanations gathered from the
participants (Omery, 1983; van Kaam, 1966). The data
are then reduced by removing vague or overlapping
explanations. At this point, inter-subjective agreement
from experts in the field of phenomenology is sought
and themes are classified into categories. Data analysis
continues until saturation occurs, that is, no new cate-
gories of explanation can be identified (Omery, 1983;
van Kaam, 1966). The final step consists of describing
the experience and answering the research question.
van KaamÕs approach provides both specificity for
analyzing verbal descriptions and feasibility for
analyzing large amounts of data (Anderson & Eppard,
1998). Interestingly, the approach also has a quantita-
tive nature in that the data are separated and counted
(Anderson & Eppard, 1998).
CONCLUSION
Phenomenology is grounded in a variety of philosophic
positions and procedural interpretations. Knowledge
of the data analysis approaches described here will as-
sist readers of phenomenological research to make
sense of what has been accomplished in a research
project. While researchers should ideally provide
a full description of their methods, readers also have
Journal of Pediatric Health Care
a responsibility, especially before applying research re-
sults, to understand the methods by which the findings
were obtained.
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January/February 2011 71