ETHNOGRAPHY construction with the community under

study.
History and Definitions: Illustrative Example:
 Ethnography emerged in the historical and  Steier's family therapy project illustrates co-
academic context, with anthropologists like constructive process: team members
Malinowski and Mead investigating cultures questioned therapist's actions, leading to
of social groups. discussions about significant elements in the
 Early examples of ethnographies include family story. All members accountable for
Fanny Wright's 'A View of Society and exploring unusual aspects of therapy process.
Manners in America' (1821) and Harriet
Martineau's 'Society in America' (1827). Ethnographic and Observational Methods in
 Ethnography defined as 'participant Psychological Research
observation' where researchers immerse in
the culture of the society under investigation Ethnography not common in psychological research,
(O’Connell Davidson and Layder, 1994). but some classic studies utilized ethnographic and
 Ethnography used across various social observational methods.
science fields, including psychology.  Marienthal study (1930s) examined social and
Philosophical Underpinnings: psychological impacts of long-term male
 Ethnography belongs to the 'naturalism' unemployment in an Austrian community,
tradition, emphasizing understanding cultural involving interviews, participant observation,
meanings within everyday contexts. and quantitative data collection.
 Contrasted with positivism, naturalism seeks Classic Studies:
insider's perspective and cultural  Festinger’s study ('When Prophecy Fails',
interpretation. 1956) used participant observation in a
Defining Features of Ethnographic Research: millenarian religious cult to test beliefs'
 cultural interpretation, understanding cultural strength after disconfirmation.
and symbolic aspects of actions within  Rosenhan’s study (1973) involved pseudo-
specific groups or cases. patients gaining admission to mental hospitals
 Studied in natural settings, not manipulated to observe staff responses, demonstrating
environments; researchers become part of issues with diagnostic processes and
the setting. treatment.
 Loosely structured, evolving over time based Field Stimulation Studies:
on activities and cultural practices.  Field stimulation studies involve researcher
 Multi-method research: includes intervention in natural settings, observing
structured/semi-structured questionnaires, outcomes.
interviews, participant observation, diaries,  More structured than ethnographic studies,
film records, and official documents. often associated with a positivist approach.
 Involves prolonged data collection, holistic  Example: Rosenhan's 'field stimulation'
approach, and avoidance of isolating cultural project involved pseudo-patients gaining
aspects from their context. admission to mental hospitals to observe staff
 Acknowledges researcher's impact on the responses.
studied phenomena, emphasizes reflexivity. Ethnographic Studies in Related Disciplines:
 Constructionist approach: Views ethnographic  Ethnographic studies in sociology, education,
accounts as crafted constructions, not and cultural studies relevant to psychology.
objective 'truths'; researchers acknowledge  Example: Paul Willis's 'Learning to Labour'
their role in constructing the world being (1977) studied working-class youth, revealing
studied. their opposition to school authority and its
 Research viewed as a translation process, impact on their future prospects.
involving active participation and co-
  Willis's work elucidates irrational behaviors among participants.
and choices, relevant to social psychology.  Covert ethnography minimizes reactivity but
 Connection with social psychology: Christine presents challenges in data recording and
Griffin's study ('Typical Girls?', 1985) ethical concerns.
examined young women's pressures to secure  Access negotiation involves meeting
a job and find a partner, using semi-structured participants on their terms, recognizing the
interviews and non-participant observation. importance of credibility and rapport-
Representation, Engagement, and 'Bias': building.
 Participant observation challenges the idea of
a detached, objective researcher. Potentialities and Limitations of Ethnographic
 Validity of ethnographers’ interpretations is Methods: Insights and Challenges
crucial; a 'realist' perspective aims for Advantages:
accurate portrayal of the social world.  Flexibility and Open Structure
 Macro and micro aspects of situations must  In-Depth Understanding
be recognized and reflected in ethnographic  Suitability for Specific Contexts
research.  First Stage or Standalone Method
 Ethnographic research involves direct,  Examination of Collective Practices
sustained interaction, incorporating the  Diverse Social Context
researcher’s subjectivity and social
positioning.
Realism vs. Relativism: Practical Guide to Ethnographic Research:
 Realism emphasizes presenting an accurate 1. Allocate time and resources for the study.
picture of the social world; concepts and 2. Assess if ethnographic methods are suitable
categories should emerge from data. for research questions; define theoretical
 Relativism rejects researcher detachment, perspectives and analytic approach.
focusing on socially constructed nature of 3. Address ethical concerns such as informed
research analyses. consent, covert and overt observation, and
 Relativist perspective critiques speaking on power relations; establish ethical strategies
behalf of participants and challenges claims to and participant contracts.
objective truth. 4. Plan research design based on available
Interpretation and Analysis of Observational Data: fieldwork time, research topic, and
 Ethnographic data recording and phenomenon under investigation; decide on
interpretation are complex, rarely defined entry and exit strategies and data collection
with clarity. methods.
 Ethnographers use field-notes, memos, and 5. Select fieldwork site, potential participants,
reflexive journaling for analysis. and gatekeepers; use informal methods and
 Material recorded in the field is selective; intuition alongside more structured
capturing all subtleties of human interactions approaches.
is challenging. 6. Enter the field: Describe the study, develop a
 Ethnographic studies must navigate ethical safety strategy, gain access via intermediaries,
considerations, access issues, and participant and note reactions of participants.
perceptions of the research. 7. Common techniques include participant
Ethical Considerations, Access, Deception, and observation, interviewing, questionnaires,
Informed Consent: diaries, and unobtrusive measures; be aware
 Ethnographic research raises ethical dilemmas of informed consent in unobtrusive
regarding informed consent, deception, and observations.
privacy invasion. 8. Exit the field: Develop a strategy for ending
 Covert and overt roles in ethnography blur relationships with participants.
the line between consent and awareness 9. Analysis: Transcribe, organize, collate, and
 anonymize data systematically; look for to specific contexts, such as delivering bad
negative cases and be rigorous in analysis. news in a medical diagnosis.
10. Dissemination: Decide audience, format, Fundamental Features of Talk-in-Interaction:
standpoint, and focus for dissemination; avoid  Turn-Taking: Conversation is organized to
revealing sensitive information unless ensure participants speak one at a time, using
necessary; aim to make the unfamiliar familiar turn-constructional units (TCUs) as basic
and the familiar strange. building blocks.
Limitations:  Sequence Organization: Conversational
 Time and Cost sequences involve initiating actions followed
 Complex Data Interpretation by responsive actions, often expanded to
 Challenges in Data Collection create longer stretches of talk.
 Other Features: CA studies action formation,
CONVERSATION ANALYSIS repair, word selection, person reference, and
Conversation Analysis (CA): the overall structural organization of
 CA research uses naturalistic data, such as interaction.
audio or video recordings of talk, to analyze Challenges and Debates:
ordinary, everyday conversation and  Political Engagement: CA has faced critiques
institutional talk. regarding its compatibility with feminism and
 Analysis starts with transcription, preserving other critical perspectives, but some
fine-grained details like in-breaths, pauses, researchers argue for its potential in feminist-
and sound stretches, which are crucial for informed CA work.
understanding participants' actions.  Quantification: Some researchers have
 CA focuses on identifying actions in talk-in- explored quantitative analyses of
interaction and developing technical conversation, linking specific talk features to
specifications for how these actions are measurable outcomes, although caution is
accomplished. advised against premature quantification.
 Cognition and Conversation: CA treats
Types of Data: cognition as observable in talk, focusing on
 CA uses naturalistic data, not researcher- how cognitive phenomena manifest in
generated, often collected without the interaction rather than delving into
researcher present, and typically audio or participants' psychological states.
video-recorded. Relationship with Other Methods:
 Ordinary conversation and institutional talk  Distinctiveness: CA is distinct from other
are the two main types of data analyzed by qualitative methods like interviews and focus
conversation analysts. groups because it uses naturalistic data,
Studies of Ordinary Conversation: directly observing talk-in-interaction, and
 Ordinary conversation is considered the analyzing both what is said and how it is said.
fundamental site of social life, capturing Overlap with Discursive Psychology:
people's everyday interactions.  While there is some overlap, CA and
 CA studies examine various actions in talk-in- discursive psychology have differences,
interaction, such as opening and closing especially in their dependence on
conversations, agreeing and disagreeing, and fundamental features of talk-in-interaction.
handling problems of understanding. Doing Conversation Analytic Research
Studies of Institutional Talk: Introduction:
 Institutional talk, found in contexts like  Study Background: The research focuses on
healthcare interactions and educational surprise displays within conversation,
settings, builds on ordinary conversational particularly analyzing the use of 'reaction
competencies. tokens' like "Wow!" and "My goodness!" in
 Institutional talk adapts conversational actions response to surprising information.
  Theoretical Framework: Grounded in Development of Discursive Psychology from
Goffman's analysis of response cries, the Discourse Analysis:
study explores how surprise displays are  DP originated from a specific form of
interactionally achieved rather than being discourse analysis outlined in Potter and
spontaneous eruptions of emotion. Wetherell’s influential book "Discourse and
Key Steps in CA Research: Social Psychology" (1987).
1. Noticing Phenomenon: Researchers observe  It pioneered qualitative discourse research in
and identify a specific conversational psychology and provided an alternative
phenomenon of interest methodological approach to experiments and
2. Assembling Instances: Researchers collect a questionnaires.
preliminary set of instances related to the Theoretical Influences:
phenomenon  DP integrated conversation analytic work from
3. Identifying Subsets: Researchers identify everyday and institutional settings.
subsets within the collected instances,  It drew on post-structuralist ideas from
focusing on the largest and most significant scholars like Foucault, Barthes, and Derrida.
subset for initial analysis  Wittgenstein's linguistic philosophy and
4. Analyzing Clear Cases: Analysis begins with Harré's psychological respecification also
the clearest cases of the phenomenon influenced DP.
5. Analyzing Less Transparent Cases: Analysis Key Concept: Interpretative Repertoires:
extends to instances where there is a delay  Interpretative repertoires are clusters of
between the surprising turn and the terms organized around a central metaphor,
production of the surprise token used flexibly to perform different actions in
6. Analyzing Deviant Cases: Researchers discourse.
examine deviant cases where the expected  They construct concepts like culture in diverse
surprise reaction does not occur ways, illustrating sensitivity to social relations
Example Analyses: and allowing nuanced discussions.
 Clear Cases: Instances where surprise tokens Data Collection and Analysis:
are produced immediately after a surprising  DP emphasizes naturalistic materials, such as
turn, displaying a visceral eruption of surprise. recordings of therapy sessions and everyday
 Less Transparent Cases: Instances where interactions, avoiding imposition of
there is a delay in producing the surprise researchers' categories.
token due to intervening talk seeking  Advanced digital technology and Jeffersonian
confirmation of the surprising information. transcription capture nuances like stress,
 Deviant Case: An example where the intonation, and gestures, enhancing analysis.
expected surprise reaction is missing,
demonstrating how participants challenge
normative expectations.
Contributions and Challenges: Cognition in DP:
 Contributions: CA offers a rigorous  DP treats cognition as a participant's concern,
methodology for understanding the social studying how mental phenomena are
organization of talk-in-interaction, constructed and oriented to in interaction.
contributing to social psychology, basic CA,  It explores the practical uses of cognitive
and institutional/applied CA. language and respecifies traditional
 Challenges: CA demands extensive training psychological notions like attitudes and
and is labor-intensive; however, it provides a beliefs.
nuanced understanding of social life through Embodied Practices in DP:
the analysis of talk.  DP studies embodied practices within
discourse, considering gesture, gaze, and
DISCURSIVE PSYCHOLOGY physical orientation as interactional displays.
  It examines how bodily expressions like exploration of embodiment in interactions.
gustatory 'mmms' are co-ordinated in talk, 7. Application: Use insights from the analysis to
resisting a simplistic mind-body dualism. inform interventions, addressing
Practical Steps in DP Research: communication challenges or promoting
Devising a Research Question: healthier eating habits during mealtimes.
 Formulate questions exploring how discourse
constructs and shapes psychological FOUCAULDIAN DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
phenomena and social actions. FDA (2008)
Gaining Access and Consent:  Concerned with language and its role in
 Establish relationships, gain consent from shaping social and psychological life.
participants, and record naturalistic  Argues that language constructs social reality,
interactions. which, in turn, constructs subjectivity.
Data Collection and Building a Corpus: Definition of Discourses (1994)
 Collect diverse naturalistic materials, ensuring  Discourses are sets of statements that
a practical, contextually rich dataset. construct objects and subject positions.
Transcription:  They are relatively coherent ways of talking
 Use advanced digital technology and about objects and events in the world.
Jeffersonian transcription to capture detailed Assumptions of FDA
interactional features.  Discourses give people ways of seeing and
Coding and Analysis: being in the world.
 Identify interpretative repertoires and other  They shape subjectivity and experience.
linguistic elements, analyzing how language  Discourses are linked to institutions and social
constructs psychological concepts and actions. practices.
Application:  They are linked to power and legitimation.
 Apply findings to various fields, providing  FDA can lead to social change through
critical insights into social issues, attitudes, creating alternative or counter-discourses.
and behaviors. Research Question in FDA
 How discourses construct subjects.
1. Devising a Research Question: Formulate  Focus on the power of discourses to construct
specific questions about food evaluations in objects, position subjects, and shape what
mealtime interactions. people can say, think, feel, and do.
2. Gaining Access and Consent: Obtain Selecting Texts for Analysis (2008)
permission to record family mealtimes,  Focus on texts that are relevant to the
ensuring ethical approval and participant research question.
consent.  Identify the social object or phenomenon of
3. Data Collection and Building a Corpus: Use interest.
digital technology to record multiple instances  Find texts that contain constructions of the
of family mealtimes, creating a dataset for social object.
analysis.
4. Transcription: Convert audio recordings into Step-By-Step Guide for Doing FDA (2008)
written transcripts, capturing nuances like Stage 1: Discursive Constructions
intonation and overlap.  Identify how the discursive object is
5. Coding: Identify instances of the constructed in the text.
phenomenon of interest, such as gustatory Stage 2: Discourses
"mmm" expressions, in the transcripts.  Explore the differences between
6. Analysis: Analyze patterns in discourse, constructions.
focusing on how talk is organized, situated,  Locate various discursive constructions within
and connected with actions. It's an iterative wider discourses.
process involving sequential analysis and Stage 3: Action Orientation
  Determine the function of constructing the  Grounded in feminist politics and
object in a particular way within the text. consciousness-raising movements.
 Understand when and why a particular  Inclusive approach challenges traditional
discourse is used in the text. researcher-participant boundaries.
Stage 4: Positionings  Highlights the political importance of
 Identify subject positions made available in collective memory and intervention in socio-
the discourses for individuals to take up. political change.
 Analyze how different persons are positioned Applications:
in the text.  Used to explore diverse topics, such as female
Stage 5: Practice sexualization and experiences of HIV-positive
 Examine what people can say and do given individuals.
the positions made available in discourses.  Provides rich data distinct from conventional
 Understand the social practices that interviews or focus groups.
individuals can engage in based on their  Illustrates gaps between normative meanings
positioning. and lived experiences, informing social
Stage 6: Subjectivity interventions.
 Explore what people can think, feel, and
experience based on positions made available Memory Work Process:
in discourses.  Memories are presented in a group setting.
 Discussions and analysis are audiotaped and
MEMORY WORK transcribed for further analysis.
Memory Work in Social Psychological Research  Memories are not treated as accurate
Introduction: descriptions of past events but as traces of
 Memory work is a research method involving social or discursive production of subjectivity.
collective analysis of experience.  Accounts are considered moments of
 Emerged from Marxist feminist political experience open to questioning.
project.  Group discussions involve close textual
 Focuses on the politics of memory and treats analyses of individual memories and
past experiences as contingent and malleable. comparative analyses to identify similarities
Approaches to Experience: and differences.
 Rejects linear and causal biographical  Participants question what might be taken for
interpretations. granted about the accounts and avoid giving
 Understands experience as collectively psychological explanations based on
produced and subject to social processes. individual intentions, personality, or
 Challenges the notion of experience as unconscious motives.
fundamentally unique and individual.  Memory workers focus on social processes
 Shifts focus from experience itself to its contributing to the experiences being
production and discursive construction. discussed, avoiding linear life-story narratives.
Methodological Process: Challenges and Dynamics:
 Memory work involves groups researching  Memory-work groups aim to avoid moralizing
specific topics. reactions or excessive empathy, allowing for
 Participants write memories in the third critical questioning of experiences.
person, avoiding interpretation or biography.  Group dynamics can complicate the
 Memories are analyzed collectively, interrogation of experiences, and strategies
identifying social processes and points for are employed to keep discussions honest.
intervention.  Hearing one's memory discussed in the group
 Encourages reinterpreting experiences and can prompt self-realization of communicative
challenging dominant narratives. incompetences and gaps in understanding.
Political and Theoretical Context:  Rewriting memories is a method to
 incorporate new insights and clarify experiences due to lack of language or
misreadings but can be challenging, especially discourse.
in collective settings.  Repression as a collective process.
Socio-Cultural Context and Analysis: Memory Work:
 Memory work explores memories in the  Memory work as a method to interrogate
context of broader social norms, institutions, socially constituted pathways of
structures, or discourses. remembering, forgetting, and repression.
 Memories are analyzed to understand how  Addressing gaps in language and discourse to
people actively appropriate dominant enable new interpretations of experience.
discourses, identifying possibilities for  Retrieving forgotten memories and
reworking or interrupting problematic reappraising past events in memory work.
discourses.  Example of memory worker recalling a
 Memory work challenges the notion of childhood experience triggered by a university
internal reconciliation and explores tensions memory.
within the self in the face of socio-political  Forgetting or repression occurs when there is
change. no meaning or discourse available to make
 Embodiment and subjectivity are central sense of the event.
themes, with memory work used to  Memory work's ethical challenges: exclusion
understand preconscious, habitual modes of of participants due to writing requirements,
appropriating power relations. difficulties in group dynamics, and tension
 Memory work involves continuous adaptation between representation and transformation.
and development, responding to different  Memory work as a means to counter
socio-political contexts and research individualistic tendencies and work with
questions. irreducible differences within a group.
Comparison with Narrative Analysis:  Memory work's emphasis on intervention
 Memory work goes beyond narrative analysis through transformation rather than
by exploring aspects of experience that elude representation.
articulation and may appear meaningless. Conclusion and Analysis:
 Memory workers are encouraged to imagine  Debate between culturalists, structuralists,
other ways of being and participate in their and poststructuralists regarding the meaning
production, questioning normative modes of and relevance of experience in research.
life.  Memory work does not treat experience as a
 Narrative analysis, while useful, may focus on foundation but as a problem to be questioned
aspects of experience readily narrativized by and explored.
participants, potentially reproducing a  Empathy is avoided in memory work to
convenient fiction about the nature of prevent sentimentality and encourage
experience. exploration of challenging experiences.
Psychodynamic Approaches:  Memory work's analytical process involves
 Freud's interest in interpretation in the collective engagement with theories, political
construction of experience. strategies, and new modes of appropriation.
 Mechanisms of repression as socially and  Memory work's ongoing potency in exploring
historically constituted and constantly social and discursive construction of
shifting. experience and intervening in power
 Freud's concepts of suppression and relations.
repression in psychoanalysis.  Memory work offers a unique approach for
 Repression occurring in discourse and researchers interested in political intervention
memory work offering tools to question by refusing and transforming existing subject
clichéd articulations of experience. positions.
 Repression as a denial of certain ideas or
Narrative Analysis adversity.
Why narrative? Satire
We live our lives through stories  A stable stance that considers the absurdity of
Narrative theory (Murray, 1999; Sarbin, 1986) life.
suggests that we actively construct the world through What is a narrative theme?
narratives. The recurrent pattern of human intention
Narrative is the form of our everyday thinking  Key motivations and central themes in life
 Everyday interpretations of the world are in stories are agency and communion
storied form (Bruner, 1986, 1990). (McAdams, 1993).
Narrative brings order to disorder How to collect the narrative?
 Creating narratives helps bring order and  Life Story Interview
meaning to the changing flux of life (Ricoeur,  Episodic Interview
1984, 1987).  McAdams Interview Protocol
Narrative provides structure to our sense of self, our  Life Chapters
identity  Key Events
 We create a narrative identity through stories  Significant People
(Ricoeur, 1984, 1988; McAdams, 1985).  Future Chapters
An organized interpretation of events  Tensions & Conflicts
 A narrative is an organized interpretation of a  Personal Ideology
sequence of events with a beginning, middle,  Life Theme
and end. Doing Narrative Analysis: A Step-By-Step Guide
What are the elements of a narrative?  Phase 1: Thorough reading of the narrative
 Narrative Structure  Phase 2: Make a summary of the narrative
 Narrative Tone  Phase 3: Interpret the narrative
 Narrative Themes  Structure & Tone
 Other Elements (Images, Metaphors, Beliefs,  Issues or Focal Themes
Values)  Other Elements
What is narrative structure?
 Progressive
 Movement towards a goal (optimistic PHENOMENOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
tone) HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
 Regressive  Variability in Definitions: Phenomenological
 The reverse occurs (pessimistic tone) philosophy and its applications in psychology
 Stable lack a definitive and comprehensive definition
 There is little change (objective tone) due to diverse interpretations.
What is narrative tone?  Differences Among Philosophers: Major
Optimistic phenomenological philosophers differ
 Good things happen. If bad things happen, significantly, leading to varied strategies in
there's hope for improvement. applying phenomenological thought in
Pessimistic psychology.
 Bad things happen, or good things are TYPES OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHODS:
perceived negatively. Goethean Pre-philosophical Experimental
Romance Phenomenology:
 Progressive tale where the protagonist  Founders: Johann Goethe, J.E. Purkinje,
overcomes adversity. Johannes Müller, Ewald Hering, Carl Stumpf,
Comedy G.E. Müller, Erich Jaensch, David Katz, Edgar
 A story of progress towards a happy ending. Rubin, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka,
Tragedy Wolfgang Köhler, Wolfgang Metzger, Vittorio
 Regressive tale where the protagonist suffers Benussi, Cesare Musatti, Fabio Metelli,
 Gaetano Kanizsa, Paulo Bozzi, Giovanni attitude; (2) phenomenological-psychological
Vicario. reduction was applied to see data from the
 Focus: Concerned with how the 'givens' were personal attitude of the participant; (3) the
experienced, emphasizing precise researcher assumed the transcendental
observation, and holistic attitudes. phenomenological reduction and analyzed
Grass-roots Phenomenology: data from that perspective; and (4) the
 Initiator: Donald Snygg. researcher returned to the positivity of the
 Characteristics: Focus on the experiencer's data to reclaim psychology as a worldly, no
viewpoint, exploring the phenomenal field of longer naive, discipline.
the individual within their immediate  There is ambiguity concerning the delineation
experience. between psychological subjectivity and
Interpretive Phenomenology: transcendental subjectivity in practice, raising
 Philosophers: Martin Heidegger, Gadamer. questions about the transcendental
 Methodology: Interpretation is primary, perspective going beyond human
emphasizing understanding the meaning of intersubjective level.
being. Utilizes hermeneutic methods.  The authors argue that pre-transcendental
 Practitioners: Packer, Addison, Max van and transcendental methods are
Manen, Smith, Osborn, Eatough. complementary. Pre-transcendental analyses
Descriptive Pre-transcendental Husserlian do not commit the error of assuming that
Phenomenology: intentional constitution is solely a
 Founder: Adrian van Kaam, Amedeo Giorgi. psychological function, tracing expressed
 Approach: Utilizes Husserlian and Merleau- meanings back to their familial, social, and
Ponty's methods, incorporating a pre- cultural sources.
transcendental reduction. Assumes a  The psychological subject is both constituted
phenomenological attitude, brackets past and constituting, capable of constituting
knowledge, and explores lived experiences. meanings.
 Different Interpretations: Colaizzi, Hycner,  Phenomenology can be categorized into
Moustakas (deviations from orthodox different senses:
procedures influenced by heuristic research). Goethean pre-philosophical phenomenology:
 Careful observation of phenomena followed
 The descriptive phenomenological method is by non-reductionistic, detailed descriptions.
theoretically plausible but difficult to  Intuitive approach focused on the given
implement, attempted only once by former experience without speculation or theory.
Duquesne student Larry Davidson in his
doctoral dissertation (Davidson, 1989).
 Davidson and Cosgrove (2002) attempted to 'Grass-roots' phenomenology:
analyze the transcendental perspective  Focuses on understanding the other's
articulated by Husserl, which posits a level of experiential world, lacks a consistent method
essential, intersubjective, non-human or approach.
consciousness founding human psychological  Any approach, from objectivistic to
consciousness. interpretive, is permissible.
 The approach views psychological Interpretive phenomenology:
phenomena from an external perspective,  Grounded in philosophy, interprets the
examining them as self-objectifications of experiential world of the other, deviates from
transcendental subjectivity. pure Husserlian phenomenology.
 Four steps were outlined in Davidson and  Derived from thinkers like Heidegger, Ricoeur,
Cosgrove's transcendental descriptive Gadamer, and Dilthey, merging
approach: (1) Descriptions were viewed from phenomenological concerns with the
the Lifeworld perspective, not in the natural hermeneutic tradition.
Descriptive pre-transcendental Husserlian lived experiences and personal
phenomenology: perceptions or accounts of objects or
 Based on Husserl's ideas, includes careful events.
observation, unprejudiced description, and What is hermeneutics?
use of intuition.  Requires sense-making or interpretation
 Utilizes phenomenological-psychological  IPA emphasizes the active role of the
reduction to consider phenomena as researcher in understanding the
experientially given, undergoing the participants' personal world through
experience as an existing psychological interpretative activity.
subject. What is double-hermeneutics?
Phenomenology implying return to positivity:  Empathic and questioning
 Includes transcendental perspective and  IPA combines empathic and
transcendent phenomenological reduction. questioning hermeneutics, aiming to
 Focuses on reclaiming psychology as a worldly understand the participant's point of
discipline after the transcendental reduction, view while critically analyzing their
essential for radical grounding and statements.
legitimation. Both the participant and the researcher are involved
 The descriptive phenomenological method is in sensemaking or interpretation
applicable to almost limitless experiences that  IPA involves a two-stage interpretation
can be described, covering topics such as process: participants make sense of their
learning, thinking, perception, therapy, world, and researchers make sense of the
decision-making, dreams, creativity, and participants' sense-making.
more. What is idiography?
 Limitations of the method:  Committed to the individual case
 Phenomena or experiences that  IPA focuses on the in-depth analysis
cannot be described cannot be of individual cases, emphasizing
analyzed. depth over breadth.
 The method is labor-intensive and What is the research question?
time-consuming, requiring substantial  Focus on experience & meaning
effort to complete the analysis, but  Focus on personal meaning, sense-
the results are significant and making, and understanding of
worthwhile. experiences in specific contexts,
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) especially significant issues in
Smith & Osborn (2008) people's lives.
 Questions should be open and
What is IPA? exploratory to gain rich and detailed
 Explores meaning & sense-making descriptions.
 IPA aims to explore how participants Data Collection Issues
make sense of their personal and  Small sample size
social world. It focuses on the  Sample size depends on the degree of
meanings experiences hold for commitment to case study level of
participants. analysis and reporting, richness of
What are IPA’s theoretical assumptions? individual cases, and practical
 Phenomenology constraints.
 Hermeneutics  Purposive sampling
 Idiography  Based on theoretical and practical
What is phenomenology? considerations.
 Explores lived experience  Semi-structured interviews
 IPA involves examining participants'  Encourages open discussion with
 minimal prompting from the grounded in the data and not dependent on
interviewer. external concepts brought by the researcher
Doing IPA: A Step-By-Step Guide (Glaser, 1978; 1992).
 Phase 1: Looking for themes in case 1 What are the Versions of Grounded Theory?
 Read and analyze the transcript,  The Positivist Version: Grounded Theory takes
making initial notes and documenting a realist orientation where objective reality is
emerging themes. considered to exist independently and can be
 Phase 2: Connecting the themes captured by the researcher.
 a. Initial list of themes Procedure for Grounded Theory (Bartlett & Payne,
 b. Clustering of themes 1997)
 c. Table of themes  Collect and transcribe data.
 Phase 3: Analysis of other cases  Develop initial categories through open
 Analyze each case from scratch and coding.
look for convergence or divergence  Saturate categories using the constant
after completing all case analyses. comparison technique.
 Phase 4: Writing up  Define categories.
 Construct a final theme of  Employ theoretical sampling.
superordinate themes, translating  Apply axial coding.
them into a narrative account with  Perform theoretical integration.
verbatim extracts to support the  Ground the theory.
analysis.  Fill in any gaps in the theory.
Step-By-Step Grounded Theory
Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2008) Phase 1: Initial Coding
What is Grounded Theory?  Initial coding involves defining what the data
 Grounded Theory is a systematic approach for is about, usually through line-by-line coding.
gathering, synthesizing, analyzing, and  Specific, active codes that identify actions and
conceptualizing qualitative data to construct statements in the data are used.
theory (Charmaz, 2001).  Basic questions help in coding, such as
 It is an inductive method that starts with data understanding what is happening, what
to develop an explanatory framework for a people are doing, what individuals are saying,
phenomenon. and what assumptions are being made.
 Key principles of Grounded Theory include Phase 2: Focused Coding
simultaneous involvement in data collection  Focused coding involves using the most
and analysis, developing analytic codes and significant and frequent earlier codes to
categories from data, and constructing analyze large amounts of data.
middle-range theories to understand and  It is more directed, selective, and conceptual
explain behavior. compared to line-by-line coding.
 Memo-writing is used to explicate and  Focused coding links concrete data to more
expand categories, and making comparisons abstract ideas and general processes.
between data and concepts is essential.  The coding process leads to theoretical
 Theoretical sampling, sampling for theory categories.
construction, is a critical step to check and Phase 3: Raising Focused Codes to Conceptual
refine conceptual categories. Categories
 It is advisable to delay the literature review  In this phase, codes that best capture the
until after the analysis. data are raised to the level of conceptual
What is the Goal of Grounded Theory? categories in the analytic framework.
 The primary goal of Grounded Theory is to  Conceptual definitions are provided for these
construct theory from data. categories, and they are treated in analytical
 The aim is to produce theories that are truly terms.
  Memos are used to explain the properties of
these categories, specify their conditions,
describe their consequences, and show how
they relate to other categories.
Phase 4: Memo-Writing
 After defining categories, memos are written
to elaborate on processes, assumptions, and
actions covered by the codes or categories.
 Memos include defining each code or
category, detailing processes, making
comparisons between data and categories,
bringing raw data into the memo, and
providing empirical evidence for the
category's definition.

Phase 5: Theoretical Sampling

 Theoretical sampling involves collecting
additional data to illuminate theoretical
categories.
 More data is gathered to develop and refine
categories, and negative cases are sought to
validate the emerging theory.
 Data collection stops when theoretical
saturation is reached, meaning that no new
insights emerge from additional data.
Phase 6: Writing the Draft
 After defining the theoretical categories and
supporting them with empirical evidence, the
first draft of the paper is written.
 The draft should make a compelling argument
for the emerging theory and demonstrate the
connection between data and theory through
verbatim material.
 Theoretical integration is emphasized,
showing how the theory fits together,
explaining relationships between categories,
specifying conditions, and stating the
consequences of theorized relationships
(Charmaz & Henwood, 2008).