Qualitative Research Methodology

Phenomenology
Session 15 and 16
By
Dr. Qudsia Kalsoom
School of Education
 Key Phenomenologist
• Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), founder of
phenomenology
• Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), a disciple,
colleague, and later rival of Husserl, German
phenomenologist.
• Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995)
• Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1907-1960)
 Content
• Phenomenology as a philosophy
• Some Key terms in Phenomenology
• Phenomenology as a research design/ method
• Key Features of Phenomenological Research
 Phenomenology
• Phenomenology as a philosophical activity
is about engaging in reflection on “things in
their appearing”. For example, holding
something…time…disease…living in a place…
• On the other hand, phenomenology as a
research design or method is about
researching with a phenomenological lens.
Phenomenology as a Philosophy
Human science or phenomenology
studies "persons," or beings that
have "consciousness" and that "act
purposefully“ in and on the world
by creating objects of "meaning"
that are "expressions" of how
human beings exist in the world.
(Existential Phenomenology)
Phenomenology is about gaining a deeper
understanding of the nature or meaning of our
everyday experiences. Phenomenology asks:
"What is this or that kind of experience like?"
It attempts to gain insightful descriptions of the way
we experience the world pre-reflectively, without
taxonomizing, classifying, or abstracting it.
Phenomenology does not offer us the possibility of
effective theory with which we can now explain
and/or control the world, but rather it offers us the
possibility of insights that bring us in more direct
contact with the world.
 Phenomenology as a Philosophy
A number of qualitative approaches to research
have borrowed and built upon phenomenological
philosophy.
 Transcendental Phenomenological
Attitude
Transcendental perspective/ attitude means an
attitude of consciousness that transcends
(surpasses) the orientation toward the human
mode of being conscious . It is free from worldly
and empirical assumptions. To be in the
phenomenological attitude means two things:
performing the epoché (or “bracketing”) and the
reduction.
 Bracketing / Setting Aside
To bracket means to put aside all knowledge of
the phenomenon being explored or investigated
that is not due to the actual instance of this
phenomenon. Thus all past knowledge derived
from readings or other secondary sources, as
well as one’s former personal experiences with
the phenomenon, are meant to be excluded.
 Reduction
The reduction refers to the fact that one has to refrain
from positing/ theorizing the existence of the given.
One considers the given (even if it is real) as something
present to one’s consciousness WITHOUT affirming that
it exists in the way that it presents itself.
It is taken to be something present to one’s
consciousness—a phenomenon, not a reality. It is a
reduction from existence to presence (Giorgi, 2007).
Or it is setting aside judgments about the realness of the
phenomenon (Finlay, 2009).
Consider a visual experience wherein someone sees a
tree across the square. In phenomenological reflection,
we need not concern ourselves with whether the tree
exists. However, we do need to concern ourselves
with how the object is meant or intended. A person
may see a Eucalyptus tree, NOT a Margosa (neem) tree
or any other tree. The person sees the tree with a
certain shape, with bark stripping off, etc. Thus,
bracketing the tree itself, we turn our attention to the
experience of the tree, and specifically to the content
or meaning in the experience.