Phenomenology

Wikipedia's disambiguation page for phenomenology provides a useful mirror for what the reader makes of phenomenology. It is worth reviewing the options to consider which you identify with most closely, and to thence gain an appreciation of phenomenology's breadth and main branches.

For many, phenomenology studies human experience to discover underlying aspects of this experience, the essence of phenomena, or, the, 'structures of consciousness' ^[1]. The aim is not find cause and effect, but to illuminate how things are experienced, lived, interpreted, what people see as significant. Phenomenology focuses on life situations and sees meaning in routine human behaviour. It is important to consider to what extent a proposed stance on phenomenology differs from qualitative research per se.

Phenomenology collects views from participants and describes what participants have in common as they describe a phenomenon (Cresswell et al, 2007). The emphasis is on people's subjective experiences and interpretations, the ‘lived experience’ of the phenomenon.

As well as a reflective research approach, phenomenology is also an influential and complex philosophic tradition^[2]. Different versions of phenomenology developed over time, but many centre on investigating the essence of human experience. Denscombe (2010) distinguishes a European and a North American approach to phenomenology

The European approach includes:

Transcendental phenomenology - knowledge as coming from insight, interpretative rather than objective (Husserl)
Existential phenomenology - observer cannot separate her/himself from observed world (Sartre, De Beauvoir)
Hermeneutical (study of interpretation) phenomenology - knowledge reached through language and understanding (Heidegger, Gadamer)
Linguistic phenomenology - role of language and discourse in revealing relations between culture , historicality, identity (Derrida, Foucault)

Moustakas (1990 cited in Richards and Morse, 2007) also distinguish Heuristic phenomenology – experience-based techniques when researchers seek to understand themselves and their lived worlds. This is largely autobiographical research.

The North American approach emanates from the social phenomenology of Alfred Schutz (Denscombe, 2010) and focuses on mental processes by which people make sense of experiences. 'This type of phenomenology is less concerned with revealing the essence of experience, and more concerned with describing the ways in which humans give meaning to their experiences' (Denscombe, 2010, p 101). It has been criticised for accepting to limit itself to describe what is being experienced, without seeking the essence of what is described, and for seeing value in describing experiences just for the sake of describing experience (Denscombe, 2010).

Assumptions

Phenomenology assumes that perceptions provide evidence of the world and that phenomena can be understood, but this requires putting aside already established ideas, beliefs. By going putting them aside, phenomenology aims bring to light the limitations of our culture. While culture help us understand the world, this understanding is limiting and it is important to go beyond.Phenomenology seeks to derive the essence of experience, and to expose taken for granted assumptions (Sokolowski, 2000 cited in Starks and Brown, 2007).

The researcher

Generally phenomenology emphasises subjectivity rather than objectivity. Phenomenology encourages questioning what is taken for granted. The researcher attempts to look at phenomena with fresh eyes, setting aside what we take for granted about these (Crotty, 1998). Existing interpretations should not interfere nor filter through (or as little as possible). Preconceptions have to be consciously reduced (if not eliminated).

Research problems addressed

Understanding the lived experience of a particular phenomenon (e.g in health – exploration of experience of illness – child of someone with illness)

Methods and data collection

Data collection aims to find out how participants experience a phenomenon. A variety of data can be used but some branches of phenomenology are at best ambivalent to methods^[3], including data collection. Philosophical phenomenology may not collect empirical data at all. Often more than one source is used. Phenomenology typically uses unstructured, conversational interviews, where participants are asked to describe their experience, to pay attention to a phenomenon, talk about it, describe it openly. Methods can be empirical as well as reflective. Reflective methods involves bracketing (AKA epoché) or the suspension of the everyday natural attitude and the ‘vocatio’ (letting language, a text speak to us).

Results

Reflection on personal experience, experience of others, and observation that gives insight into meanings.

Resources

British Phenomenological Society https://www.britishphenomenology.org.uk

Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology http://www.phenomenologycenter.org/

Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS) Interdisciplinary Phenomenology Cluster https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/dias/ideas/dias-clusters/interdisciplinary-phenomenology-cluster

Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology www.tandfonline.com/journals/ripj20

Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists (ICNAP) https://icnap.org/

Open Commons of Phenomenology ophen.org

Phenomenology and Practice journal, hosted by University of Alberta.

Phenomenology online www.phenomenologyonline.com

Truth and Method - a Wikiversity project of open notes on Gadamer's magnum opus^[4].

References

↑ Smith, David Woodruff (2018). Zalta, Edward N.. ed. Phenomenology (Summer 2018 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/phenomenology/.
↑ Van Manen, Max (2023). Phenomenology of practice: meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing (Second edition ed.). New York London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-13189-4.
↑ Vagle, Mark D. (2018-04-04). Crafting Phenomenological Research. doi:10.4324/9781315173474. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315173474.
↑ Gadamer, Hans-Georg; Weinsheimer, Joel; Marshall, Donald G. (2013). Truth and method. The Bloomsbury revelations series (First paperback edition.translation revised by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-78093-624-6.

Colaizzi, Pr. (1973)Marton, F., & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and Awareness. New Jersey: Lawerence Erlbaum Associates.

Denscombe, Martyn (2010)(4th ed). The good research guide for small scale social research projects. Maidenhead: Open University Pres McGraw Hill

Langdridge, D. (2007). Phenomenological psychology: theory, reasearch and method. Prentice Hall: Pearson.

Moustakas, C. (1990). Heuristic research: design, methodology and applications. Newbury Park: Sage.

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage

Starks, Helen and Grown, Susan (2007), ‘Choose your method: a comparison of phenomenology. Discourse analysis and grounded theory’, Qualitative Health Research 17/10, pp 1372-1380

Van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. State University of New York Press: New York.

[1] Smith, David Woodruff (2018). Zalta, Edward N.. ed. Phenomenology (Summer 2018 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/phenomenology/.

[2] Van Manen, Max (2023). Phenomenology of practice: meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing (Second edition ed.). New York London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-13189-4.

[3] Vagle, Mark D. (2018-04-04). Crafting Phenomenological Research. doi:10.4324/9781315173474. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315173474.

[4] Gadamer, Hans-Georg; Weinsheimer, Joel; Marshall, Donald G. (2013). Truth and method. The Bloomsbury revelations series (First paperback edition.translation revised by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-78093-624-6.

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