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Link to beginning section of Introduction to Qualitative Research

Phenomenology

Phenomenology seeks to “explore, describe, and analyze the meaning of a lived experience” for a group of individuals (Marshall 19). In phenomenological studies, all study participants must have directly experienced the phenomenon of interest (the selected event, issue, topic, etc. about which the researcher wants to know more) for the goal is to reduce the individuals’ experiences to a central meaning, or universal “essence,” that is shared by all. In phenomenology, a researcher seeks to describe the essence, usually including “what” was experienced and “how” it was experienced.

Because all participants must have experienced the phenomenon being studied, the selection of appropriate participants is critical. Similar to narrative research, the most commonly utilized method of data collection in phenomenological studies is in-depth interviews. Observation and document analysis can also be used.

Once all data is collected, the researcher conducts analysis through three main steps (Creswell 61).

  1. Bracketing out: In the first step, the researcher will review interview transcripts (and any other data) and identify in brackets any “significant statements.” Significant statements are quotes that provide an understanding of how the individual experienced the phenomenon.

  2. Horizontalization: In step two, bracketed statements are spread out and examined by the researcher. At this point, all statements are viewed equally, having the same weight and value in terms of importance.

  3. Clusters of meaning: In step three, the bracketed statements are grouped into themes, of clusters of meaning.

The final product of this kind of study is a written narrative which should accurately and thoroughly describe the essence of the phenomenon. The goal is to have the reader be able to better understand what it is like for someone to experience the phenomenon. To accomplish this goal, the final narrative must contain both textural and structural descriptions, along with essential, invariant structure (Creswell 61). Textural description is the description of what the individuals experienced based on the significant statements and identified themes. Whereas, structural description is the description of the context or setting that influenced how the group experienced the phenomenon. The essential, invariant structure is the composite description, typically 1-2 paragraphs, which explains the “essence” of the phenomenon.

Example:

Hansen, Holstein, and Hansen (2009) conducted in-depth interviews with young women between the ages of 16 and 20 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The researchers explored the women’s medicine-taking experiences in order to gain a greater understanding of their medicine-taking practices and to identify factors which influence these practices. The authors asked one central question to guide the inquiry: What are young women’s perceptions of medicines and how are these perceptions involved in their medicine use?

Hansen DL, Holstein BE, Hansen EH. “I’d rather not take it, but ...”: young women’s perceptions of medicines. Qual Health Res. 2009 Jun;19(6):829-39.

Challenges to consider when using phenomenology:

  • Researcher must consider the nature of the phenomenon
  • Participants must be carefully selected to ensure that all have directly experienced the phenomenon of interest
  • Very time intensive