Phenomenological researchers agree that it is important to focus on the embodied and experiential meanings that aim at distinguishing the complex description of a phenomenon. Therefore, through phenomenological research philosophers are able to find meaning and essence of an experience as opposed to relying on the explanations of measurements. According to Moran (2000, p. 3), phenomenological researchers have “extraordinarily diverse in their interests, in their interpretation of the central issues of phenomenology, in their application of what they understood to be the phenomenological method, and in their development of what they took to be the phenomenological programme for the future of philosophy.” This means that philosophers that utilize this method are able to reflect on the diverse application of philosophical concepts by examining the uncertainty and controversy within an empirical project.
Phenomenological research methods in psychology that emerged from the philosophies of Husserl and Heidegger
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Husserl’s Phenomenological Research Methods
Edmund Husserl was the founder of phenomenology and influenced the field of philosophy during the 20 th century. He was a prominent European philosopher who inspired fellow thinkers from different part of the world. He has significantly contributed to the philosophy of phenomenology, which is now known as the framework of science and defined as presuppositionless philosophy. He argued that the study of nature must differ with the study of consciousness. According to Husserl phenomenology is viewed in three different perspectives. The three perspectives show that phenomenological research; (a) led to the discovery of consciousness, (b) allows an individual to define the essence of what has been discovered, and (c) the development of phenomenology is important, since it is associated with transcendental idealism. The two phenomenological researches that emerged from the philosophies of Husserl include: transcendental and intentionality research methods.
Husserl’s concepts of transcendental phenomenology refer to the scientific examination of things as they are presented, of phenomena as one sees them and as they appear to our consciousness. According to Moustakas (1994), through this phenomenology research method, Husserl discredits everything that may present a prejudgment or presupposition in the mind of a researcher. This means that a researcher must evaluate the meaning and essence of things through a self-discovery process of nature. This is achieved through the process of reflective attention, whereby an individual to derive meaning from lived experiences. As a result, the researcher is able to analyze things openly without allowing the different aspects of the natural world to interfere with their perspective.
Thus, through transcendental phenomenology research methods, researchers are challenged to understand the meanings and essence of things by depending on their intuition and self-reflection. Moustakas (1994) emphasizes that the meaning of an object is derived from how it occurs in our consciousness – since whatever appears in our consciousness is a reality whereas whatever appears to the world is as a result of learning. Furthermore, the act of consciousness and the item of consciousness are intentionally intertwined, which means that intuition is important when describing the appearance of an object. Through the transcendental philosophy, Husserl opted to use intuition as opposed to deduction.
Intentionality is a form of phenomenal research method that describes the thoughts that a subject has about themselves or how they present the intentional object to themselves. According to Mouskas (1994), intentionality, noema and noesis make up the main idea of phenomenology. From this research method, Husserl emphasized that knowledge is ingrained in meanings, as opposed to the examination of physical objects. By reflecting on what one has seen, they can be able to identify the concealed meanings. The research approach in this method is to consistently look and reflect in order to obtain a comprehensive description. There is a shift that takes place when an individual observes an object with a different perspective, mood or reference; thus, the perception of a thing cannot be ruled out as being conclusive, since in-depth layers of meanings emerge as one continues to search. Therefore, in order to identify the essence of a phenomenon a researcher must unify the external (noema) and internal (noesis) perceptions.
Heidegger’s Phenomenological Research Methods
Martin Heidegger was a student of Edmund Husserl from 1909-1911 and was later promoted to being his assistant Freiburg University. Heidegger’s phenomenology provides qualitative researchers with methodological guidance, which enables them to understand the experience of study participants during their lifetime. His phenomenological research methods seek to answer the question of being. The two phenomenology research method that emerged from Heidegger’s philosophies includes the Hermeneutic research method and Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).
Hermeneutics research method refers to the approach of reading or interacting with a text in a way that allows a person to understand the intention and meaning presented by what appears in front of them. According to Gadamer (1975, p.38), “the starting points of hermeneutic studies are to be found in art and in philological-historical insights.” Hermeneutic phenomenology is used in research to learn and understand human behaviors and actions within a specific context. The two main characteristics of hermeneutic phenomenology are that; language is the core of all understanding and historical context provides an individual a foundation for such understanding. Texts are the primary foundation of data since hermeneutic research method mainly focuses on language as the framework for understanding. Therefore, researchers rely on texts from published materials such as research papers, journals, reports, blogs or newspapers to interpret lived experience.
Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is a qualitative approach that focuses on examining the details of a personal lived experience. Therefore, researchers using this method depend on the accounts provided by subjects about their lived experience and denote meaning and essence from how participants make sense of these experiences. IPA disregards pre-existing theoretical assumptions and recognizes that humans are sense-making beings who provide interpretive endeavors. This research method is particularly important when studying complex and ambiguous subjects since it is committed to providing a detailed experience of every individual case.
Comparisons between the Research Methods
The phenomenological research methods discussed above mainly differ according to the data collection approaches used for each method. In transcendental phenomenology researchers have to examine the subject as presented to them, solely depending on their consciousness. Thus, researchers have to evaluate the experience as lived by an individual. This form of research method can be used in surveys and questionnaires. On the other hand, intentionality research method focuses on continues analysis of data that has been collected through looking and gaining in-depth understanding of the subject. This approach can be used through interviewing a subject as the researcher has the opportunity to ask questions and get answers from the subject.
Unlike the other two research methods, the hermeneutic research approach relies on existing information. Researchers gather and analyze texts from pre-exiting research and form a conclusion from their analysis. This form of research method in descriptive data analysis, where researchers can describe various experiences and group them according to the lived experience of the subjects. The IPA is different from the hermeneutic approach since it does not depend on preconceived notions. Researchers evaluate the lived experiences of each participant and use this to make conclusions. This form of research method can be used in surveys.
Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) allows the best understanding of human experience as it allows the researcher to examine the lived experience of a subject. An IPA research-based statement is:
How do bisexual people think about sex and sexuality?
Conclusion
As a qualitative research method, phenomenology research methods are derived from various methodological approaches, philosophical values and theoretical perspectives. Researchers will adopt different forms depending on the phenomenon that is being studied or analyzed and the type of knowledge or information that the researcher seeks. Through phenomenology research methods, researchers can identify an array of appearances and meanings as it is not a restrictive research approach. However, since qualitative research methods are constantly evolving, it is important for phenomenological approaches to be dynamic and consistently develop.
References
Gadamer, H. G. (1975). Philosophical hermeneutics. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Moran, D. (2000). Introduction to phenomenology . London: Routledge.
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. London, Sage
