Phenomenology research is one of the five approaches to qualitative research design. Qualitative research is used to provide insights into the research questions/ problems. Qualitative research starts with an assumption of a particular topic. Once the assumption is research the results of that research is descriptive. Each approach within qualitative research provides a way thinking about conducting qualitative research. Phenomenology approach is a way to examine and understand how the world appears to others.
History of Phenomenology
Phenomenology as a long productive history, although the name was created in the early 20th century, phenomenology had been used for many centuries. Hindu and Buddhist philosophers used phenomenology when they reflected on states of consciousness when attempting to achieve various states meditation. Philosophers and theorists Descartes, Hume, and Kant practiced phenomenology in their studies of the states of perception, thought, and imagination. William James also used phenomenology when appraising kinds of mental activity. Throughout history phenomenology have been use is various contents but was not given a name. Edmund Husserl gave phenomenology a name and life. Husserl and three other phenomenologists, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty, discovered different conceptions, different methods, and different results of phenomenology. The Encyclopedia of Phenomenology notes seven types of phenomenology: 1) Transcendental constitutive phenomenology, 2) Naturalistic constitutive phenomenology, 3) Existential phenomenology, 4) Generative historicist phenomenology, 5) Genetic phenomenology, 6) Hermeneutical phenomenology and 7) Realistic phenomenology. Husserl defined phenomenology as “the science of the essence of consciousness”. Husserl considered the phenomenology approach to be “explicitly in the first person point of view” (Smith & Zalta, 2016). As time passed various philosophers continued to debate over the proper characterization of phenomenology and its results and methods. For example, Martin Heidegger who studied Husserl 's early writings and worked as Husserl assisted in 1916, had his own ideas about phenomenology. Heidegger believe that people and their activities are always “in the world and our being is being-in-the-world, so we do not study our activities by bracketing the world” (Smith & Zalta, 2016). Heidegger believed that “we interpret our activities and the meaning things have for us by looking to our contextual relations to things in the world” (Smith & Zalta, 2016). In the 1940’s, Maurice Merleau-Ponty developed a variety of phenomenology. Merleau-Ponty focused on correlations between sensation and stimulus. He researched body image and our experience with our own body. As we have approached recent times, philosophers used phenomenology research for a variety of issues such as mental representation, consciousness, sensory experience, intentional content, and context-of-thought. Some researchers has begun to combine phenomenological issues with neuroscience, behavioral studies and mathematical modeling. Methods and Procedures of Phenomenological Research When conducting phenomenological research the researcher wants to first examine whether this research type is appropriate for their topic. Phenomenological research is design to examine or to understand several individuals’ common experiences of the same situation/phenomenon. For example, researching holocaust survivor’s reaction to Holocaust. Or experience of teachers who work with adult students in community corrections programs who are mandated to attend educational classes. Once the topic is recognized as being acceptable for phenomenological research, the research can begin data collection. The researcher should collect data from people that have experience the same situation. Allowing the participants to express their opinions freely asking questions that allow in-depth answers. The researcher wants to reframe from using survey or questionnaire style questions. When using this approach the researcher wants to interview “5 to 25 individuals who have all experienced the phenomenon” (Creswell, 2013). Researchers also used their own …show more content…
This is not the approach where the researcher can go in blind with any understanding of the topic. This research relies on the researcher opinion as well as their participants. When the researcher is selecting participants they have to be careful. They want to ensure all participants have experience the same phenomenon this allows the researcher to form and accurate conclusion. This can be a problem depending on the topic that is being researched. Hence, the reason the researcher need to make sure that their topic is compatible for this approach. Another challenge that may come across to researcher is being able to bracketing their personal experience. The researcher will have to find a productive way of introducing their own
History of Phenomenology
Phenomenology as a long productive history, although the name was created in the early 20th century, phenomenology had been used for many centuries. Hindu and Buddhist philosophers used phenomenology when they reflected on states of consciousness when attempting to achieve various states meditation. Philosophers and theorists Descartes, Hume, and Kant practiced phenomenology in their studies of the states of perception, thought, and imagination. William James also used phenomenology when appraising kinds of mental activity. Throughout history phenomenology have been use is various contents but was not given a name. Edmund Husserl gave phenomenology a name and life. Husserl and three other phenomenologists, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty, discovered different conceptions, different methods, and different results of phenomenology. The Encyclopedia of Phenomenology notes seven types of phenomenology: 1) Transcendental constitutive phenomenology, 2) Naturalistic constitutive phenomenology, 3) Existential phenomenology, 4) Generative historicist phenomenology, 5) Genetic phenomenology, 6) Hermeneutical phenomenology and 7) Realistic phenomenology. Husserl defined phenomenology as “the science of the essence of consciousness”. Husserl considered the phenomenology approach to be “explicitly in the first person point of view” (Smith & Zalta, 2016). As time passed various philosophers continued to debate over the proper characterization of phenomenology and its results and methods. For example, Martin Heidegger who studied Husserl 's early writings and worked as Husserl assisted in 1916, had his own ideas about phenomenology. Heidegger believe that people and their activities are always “in the world and our being is being-in-the-world, so we do not study our activities by bracketing the world” (Smith & Zalta, 2016). Heidegger believed that “we interpret our activities and the meaning things have for us by looking to our contextual relations to things in the world” (Smith & Zalta, 2016). In the 1940’s, Maurice Merleau-Ponty developed a variety of phenomenology. Merleau-Ponty focused on correlations between sensation and stimulus. He researched body image and our experience with our own body. As we have approached recent times, philosophers used phenomenology research for a variety of issues such as mental representation, consciousness, sensory experience, intentional content, and context-of-thought. Some researchers has begun to combine phenomenological issues with neuroscience, behavioral studies and mathematical modeling. Methods and Procedures of Phenomenological Research When conducting phenomenological research the researcher wants to first examine whether this research type is appropriate for their topic. Phenomenological research is design to examine or to understand several individuals’ common experiences of the same situation/phenomenon. For example, researching holocaust survivor’s reaction to Holocaust. Or experience of teachers who work with adult students in community corrections programs who are mandated to attend educational classes. Once the topic is recognized as being acceptable for phenomenological research, the research can begin data collection. The researcher should collect data from people that have experience the same situation. Allowing the participants to express their opinions freely asking questions that allow in-depth answers. The researcher wants to reframe from using survey or questionnaire style questions. When using this approach the researcher wants to interview “5 to 25 individuals who have all experienced the phenomenon” (Creswell, 2013). Researchers also used their own …show more content…
This is not the approach where the researcher can go in blind with any understanding of the topic. This research relies on the researcher opinion as well as their participants. When the researcher is selecting participants they have to be careful. They want to ensure all participants have experience the same phenomenon this allows the researcher to form and accurate conclusion. This can be a problem depending on the topic that is being researched. Hence, the reason the researcher need to make sure that their topic is compatible for this approach. Another challenge that may come across to researcher is being able to bracketing their personal experience. The researcher will have to find a productive way of introducing their own