PHENOMENOLOGY
Description
O Phenomenology is a type of research in which the researcher attempts to understand how one or more individuals
experience a phenomenon.
Varieties of phenomenology
1. Transcendental constitutive phenomenology studies how objects are constituted in transcendental
consciousness, setting aside questions of any relation to the natural world.
2. Naturalistic constitutive phenomenology studies how consciousness constitutes things in the world of nature,
assuming with the natural attitude that consciousness is part of nature.
3. Existential phenomenology studies concrete human existence, including our experience of free choice and/or
action in concrete situations.
4. Generative historicist phenomenology studies how meaning—as found in our experience—is generated in
historical processes of collective experience over time.
5. Genetic phenomenology studies the emergence/genesis of meanings of things within one's own stream of
experience.
6. Hermeneutical phenomenology studies interpretive structures of experience.
7. Realistic phenomenology studies the structure of consciousness and intentionality as "it occurs in a real world
that is largely external to consciousness and not somehow brought into being by consciousness."
Procedure
A phenomenological research study typically follows the four steps listed below:
Bracketing – The process of identifying, and keeping in check, any preconceived beliefs, opinions or notions
about the phenomenon being researched. In this process, the researcher “brackets out” any presuppositions in an
effect to approach the study of the phenomenon from an unbiased perspective. Bracketing is important
to phenomenological reduction, which is the process of isolating the phenomenon and separating it from what is
already known about it.
Intuition – This requires that the researcher become totally immersed in the study and the phenomenon and that the
researcher remains open to the meaning of the phenomenon as described by those that experienced it. The process
of intuition results in an understanding of the phenomenon and may require the researcher to vary the data
collection methods or questions until that level of understanding emerges.
Analysis – The process of analysing data involves the researcher becoming full immersed into the rich, descriptive
data and using processes such as coding and categorizing to organize the data. The goal is to develop themes that
can be used to describe the experience from the perspective of those that lived it.
Description – This is the last phase of the process. The researcher will use his or her understanding of the data to
describe and define the phenomenon and communicate it to others.
Recommended Sample Size
Qualitative analyses typically require a smaller sample size than quantitative analyses. Qualitative sample sizes
should be large enough to obtain enough data to sufficiently describe the phenomenon of interest and address the research
questions. The goal of qualitative researchers should be the attainment of saturation. Saturation occurs when adding more
participants to the study does not result in additional perspectives or information. Glaser and Strauss (1967) recommend
the concept of saturation for achieving an appropriate sample size in qualitative studies. Other guidelines have also been
recommended. For ethnography, Morse (1994) suggested approximately 30 – 50 participants. For grounded theory,
Morse (1994) suggested 30 – 50 interviews, while Creswell (1998) suggested only 20 – 30. For phenomenological
studies, Creswell (1998) recommends 5 – 25 and Morse (1994) suggests at least six.
Data Analysis Technique
Phenomenological research tends to generate a significant quantity of data that may include interview notes,
transcripts, recordings, and other types of records that must be analysed. Pure phenomenology attempts to simply describe
the data, but does not attempt to explain or interpret. However, most phenomenological research adds an interpretive
element that allows the data to be used as a basis for theory and allows it to be used to challenge structural or normative
assumptions. It may even to be used to challenge or support policies or actions related to a particular experience or
phenomenon.
Ways of Presenting Findings
When crafting your findings, the first thing you want to think about is how you will organize your findings. Your findings
represent the story you are going to tell in response to the research questions you have answered. Thus, you will want to
organize that story in a way that makes sense to you and will make sense to your reader. You want to think about how you
will present the findings so that they are compelling and responsive to the research question(s) you answered. These
questions may not be the questions you set out to answer but they will definitely be the questions you answered. You may
discover that the best way to organize the findings is first by research question and second by theme. There may be other
formats that are better for telling your story. Once you have decided how you want to organize the findings, you will start
the chapter by reminding your reader of the research questions. You will need to differentiate between is presenting raw
data and using data as evidence or examples to support the findings you have identified. Here are some points to
consider:
Your findings should provide sufficient evidence from your data to support the conclusions you have made.
Evidence takes the form of quotations from interviews and excerpts from observations and documents.
Ethically you have to make sure you have confidence in your findings and account for counter-evidence (evidence
that contradicts your primary finding) and not report something that does not have sufficient evidence to back it
up.
Your findings should be related back to your conceptual framework.
Your findings should be in response to the problem presented (as defined by the research questions) and should be
the “solution” or “answer” to those questions.
You should focus on data that enables you to answer your research questions, not simply on offering raw data.
Qualitative research presents “best examples” of raw data to demonstrate an analytic point, not simply to display
data.
Numbers (descriptive statistics) help your reader understand how prevalent or typical a finding is. Numbers are
helpful and should not be avoided simply because this is a qualitative dissertation.
Sample Research Title
Phenomenological Research Method, Design and Procedure: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Phenomenon of
Being-in-Community as Experienced by Two Individuals Who Have Participated in a Community Building Workshop
References/Bibliography
Giorgi, A. (1994). A phenomenological perspective on certain qualitative research methods. Journal of Phenomenological
Psychology, 25, 190-220.
Giorgi, A. (1997). The theory, practice, and evaluation of the phenomenological method as a qualitative research
procedure. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 28, 236-60.
Submitted by:
Mary Ivy T. Tacadao
Rachel Joy C. Serra
M.A.Ed-Reading
