Describes the meaning of lived experiences for several individuals
Describes what the participants have in common as they experience a phenomenon
The purpose is to reduce the experiences of the participants with a phenomenon to a description of a universal essence
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Researcher collects data from participants, develops a composite description of the essence of the experience that consists of “what” they experience and “how” they experienced it
It has a philosophical foundation based on the writings of Husserl, Heidegger, Sart, and Merleau-Ponty
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Interpreting the “texts” of lifePhenomenology research is a dynamic
interplay among the research activitiesDetermine a phenomenonReflect on the essential themes that constitutes
the nature of the lived experienceWrite a description of the phenomenonUse the description to interpret the meanings
of the experience
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Focuses on the description of the experiences of the participants
Researchers engage in “epoche” in which they set aside their own experiences to take a fresh perspective toward the phenomenon they are studying (“bracketing”)
Researchers reduce data to “significant statements” from which they construct themes and descriptions and then reduce them to an overall essence of the experience
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Determine if the research problem is suited for a phenomenological approach
Identify a phenomenon of interestRecognize and specify the broad
philosophical assumptions of phenomenology
Collect the data from those who have experienced the phenomenonMultiple interviews (5-25 persons)ObservationsArtifacts (e.g., art, poetry, music)
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Ask participants two broad general questions:What have you experienced in terms of
the phenomenon?What contexts or situations have
typically influenced or affected your experiences about the phenomenon?
Identify significant statements (sentences or quotes) that provide an understanding of how the participant experienced the phenomenon
Cluster significant statements into themes Pheno
menology 7
Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Write Textual and Structural descriptions using the significant statements and themesTextual Descriptions: a description of what
the participants experienced Structural Descriptions: a description of the
context or setting that influenced how the participants experienced the phenomenon
Write a composite description that presents the “essence” of the phenomenon using the Textual and Structural descriptions that focuses on the common experiences of the participants and the meaning of all of the experiences Pheno
menology 8
Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Overview of the StudyThe study focused on the cognitive
representations that AIDS patients held about their disease
The authors advanced the Self-Regulation Model of Illness Representation that suggested that patients were active problem solvers whose behavior was a product of their cognitive and emotional responses to AIDS.
The study described how patients represented AIDS in images had not been studied
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Overview of methodology: Data collection The study involved conducting interviews
for over 18 months with 58 men and women with a diagnosis of AIDS
The interview questions reflected a phenomenological frameworkWhat is your experience with AIDS?Do you have a mental image of HIV/AIDS?What feelings come to mind?What does it mean to have it in your life?
The participants were also asked to draw pictures of their diseaseOnly eight participants drew picturesAuthors integrated these pictures into their data
analysis Phenomenology 10
Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Overview of methodology: Data analysis The transcripts were read several timesThe significant phrases or sentences were
identifiedThe meanings were clustered into themes
(175 significant statements and 11 major themes)
The results were integrated into an in-depth exhaustive description of the phenomenon
The findings were validated using member checking and their remarks were included into the final description
The study concluded with the essence (the exhaustive description of the patient’s experiences and coping strategies) Pheno
menology 11
Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Features of a phenomenological studyThe study used systematic data analysis
procedures of significant statements, meanings and themes, and an essence
The study included tables illustrating significant statements, meanings and theme clusters
The study included a central phenomenon that was appropriate for phenomenology
The study involved rigorous data collection with 58 participants
The study ended by describing the essence of the experience
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Introduction (problem, questions) Research procedures (a phenomenology
and philosophical assumptions, data collection, analysis, outcomes)
Significant statements Meanings of statements Themes of meanings Exhaustive description of phenomenon(Adapted from Moustakas, 1994)
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Use the terminology associated with phenomenological research
This terminology appears throughout a study – the statement of the problem, the purpose, the research questions, the sampling strategies
A glossary of terms associated phenomenology is in Appendix A
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Write separate sections for significant statements, meaning units, textual and structural descriptions, and for the essence
Can use tables to convey findingsInclude a passage on the philosophical
assumptions of phenomenologyBe sure and describe the phenomenon and
talk about the context in which it occursAs with all qualitative research, be
reflexive and position yourself Phenomenology 15
Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
The essence of the experience is presented through a short narrative paragraph that is based on the textual and structural descriptions
The paragraph containing the essence is enclosed in a figure
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
The reader is also educated about phenomenology and its philosophical assumptions
At the end of the study the researcher writes a short paragraph about how the “essence” in terms of its value and inspiration to the researcher’s life
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e
Use quotes (short, medium, long) to provide voices of participants
Use short eye-catching quotesUse embedded quotesUse longer quotations – requires the
reader to be guided “into” and “out of”
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Understanding the broad philosophical assumptions of phenomenology
Choosing individuals for the study who have all experienced the phenomenon so that a common understanding can be forged
Bracketing personal experiences – Researchers must decide how their personal experiences will be introduced into the study
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Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e