Phenomenology

Introduction Originated by philosophers such as Husserl, Schutz and Merleu-Ponty A framework for providing a qualitative understanding of human experience Focuses on the meaning of human experiences (phenomenon)

Research Questions What is the essential meaning of an experience? That which it is, and without which it could not be (van Manen) For example: What is the essence of being a mother? What is the essential structure of a caring nurse-client interaction ?

Goal To produce a brief statement that succinctly evokes the phenomenon

Assumptions Phenomenologists assume that human experience is inherently subjective Within these subjective experiences are essential structures that characterize the experience The way to gain access to these structures is through description of experiences

Stages in a Phenomenological Study Researcher chooses phenomenon and selects appropriate models, frameworks, or theories to guide data collection Participants interviewed; researcher brackets own experiences. A description is written that fully describes the experience.

Stages in a Phenomenological Study Descriptions of the participants’ experiences (possibly including researcher) are reduced to themes These themes are reduced to a statement that summarizes the essential meaning Researcher returns to participants to check validity of analysis

Role of Researcher Researcher’s own experiences with a phenomenon are included as a part of the study. Since the essence is universal, meaning must be true for researcher as well as participants

Researcher Participant 2 Participant 1

Characteristics of Phenomenology Use of subjective data to describe an objective truth Researcher’s own experiences integrated into the study Focus on finding the common thread in phenomenon

Phenomenology is useful when … researcher wants to understand human experience the goal is to understand a universal meaning of an experience the reduction of context specific information to a more general understanding of the phenomenon is desired

Phenomenology is useful when … the researcher is willing to become closely entwined with the research

Phenomenology is not useful for understanding differences in students performance evaluating the effectiveness of particular curricular change describing the the implementation of a curricular change answering questions about the cognitive domain (misconceptions, spatial ability)

Phenomenology Research: “The Lived Experience” Phenomenology is a science whose purpose is to describe the appearance of things as a lived experience. It allows nursing to interpret the nature of consciousness in the world (Merleau-Ponty) It can be descriptive or interpretive (hermeneutic). It is a philosophy, an method, and an inductive logic strategy

Two Philosophical Differences Peripheral research, stays distant from the subjects, objectivity seeking, and knowledge is gained by overcoming all doubt. Use Bracketing (Husserl) Truth is not something we construct by distancing ourselves from those we want to study. Truth comes from our engagement with the world. Subjectivity is as important as objectivity. (Heideggerian)

Different Types of Phenomenology Phenomenology of Essences Experiment with relationships Coding by categories Using free imaginative variation Phenomenology of Appearances Focuses on phen. as it unfolds-takes shape Sense of dynamic adventure with the world Reductive Phenomenology Is a constant work of the self related to bias, etc Interpretive (Hermeneutic) Phenomenology To interpret the phenomena being observed

Design Characteristics Purposive samples of 7-20 usually going for saturation. Instrument is the researcher Data collection is by interview of groups or individual that are verbatim, taped, and field notes. Data collection is directly tied to analysis, that eventually is coded or structured into themes.

Five Steps of the Method Shared Experience is presented Transform the lived experience into an experience the subject would agree with Code the data Put it into written form and create confirmation of the data texts. Create a complete integration of all of these for a research document

The Rigor of Trustworthiness Trustworthy questions Trustworthy approach Trustworthy in analysis Trustworthy and authenticity of data

Other Research Rigors Descriptive Vividness Methodological Congruence Theoretical Connectedness Analytical Preciseness Heuristic Relevance

Unique Features of Phenomenology Most of the literature review is conducted at the end of the data collection. It is believed the CF biases the data collection and analysis. Like Grounded Theory but without a BSP or bias already in mind. It is conducted by gathering interview data from others. It is never quantitative, but some would prefer to try and keep it objective.