Finding The “Essence” of the
Phenomenon
FOCUS
Phenomenology focuses on
what commonalities are
seen when individuals
experience a phenomenon.
PURPOSE
The basic purpose of
phenomenology is to reduce
the experience or phenomenon
of a number of people into one
understanding of the
“essence” of the experience.
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Describes and tries to understand the lived
experiences of individuals who have experienced
a particular phenomenon
Ultimately looks for “the essence” of the
experience
Relies heavily on philosophical underpinnings
May use “bracketing” (setting aside preconceived
ideas about a phenomenon), as an important
component.
Much of the work comes out of the field of
nursing
In the most basic sense, it answer the question of
“What’s it like?”
ED 800 (Kolenick v1): Intro to Education Research: Course Slides
Naturalistic constitutive phenomenology studies how consciousness
constitutes or takes things in the world of nature, assuming with the
natural attitude that consciousness is part of nature.
Existential phenomenology undergoes an investigation of meaning in the
context of lived experience
Static phenomenology is the style of analysis that primarily focuses on the
fixed intentional relation between an act and an object
Generative historicist phenomenology studies how meaning, as found in our
experience, is generated in historical processes of collective experience over
time.
Genetic phenomenology studies the genesis of meanings of things within
one's own stream of experience.
Hermeneutical phenomenology studies interpretive structures of experience,
how we understand and engage things around us in our human world,
including ourselves and others.
Realistic phenomenology emphasizes the search for the essential structures
of various concrete situations.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Phenomenology#Transcendental_phenomenology
http://web.me.com/benwadham/QualitativeResearch/phenomenology.html
Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, Dordrecht and Boston
The researcher collects data from individuals who
have experienced the phenomenon, finds
commonalities and themes, brackets for bias when
necessary and then writes a rich description of the
“essence” of the experience for all individuals.
There are two separate approaches the researcher
can take, one would be as an objective outsider and
the other who exists within the same world as the
participants and must account for their own
personal bias impact on the process.
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Observation
Interview
Survey
Documentation/Materials
Large amounts of transcribed information is
gathered and can sometimes become difficult
to work with.
Common Steps used in the research process:
1.Collect descriptions of an experience from people who have had the experience.
2. Go over all of the descriptions and look for common themes or elements.
3.Create a clear and very descriptive understanding of the experience.
4. The description you give is the “essence” of the phenomenon.
Goal:
Bringing phenomenology down to an easy to understand and basic
level, in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of what
phenomenology is and how the “essence” of the experience is found.
Obstacles:
Not being able to immerse yourself enough, to truly live the
experience of anger again, while sitting in the classroom.
Having to small of a focus group to find similar threads or themes.
Plan:
Close your eyes and remember a time you were angry. Really try to listen to
your body and describe the changes, feelings, thoughts in your mind etc.
C. George Boeree, Shippensburg University
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/qualmethone.html
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How does it come on?
What happens during the experience, to your body?
How does the world seem different?
What thoughts and feelings come upon you?
What acts do you need or want to do?
How does it dissipate?
What preconditions were there ( set mood)?
What outside triggers were there?
C. George Boeree, Shippensburg University
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/qualmethone.html
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Bracketing means setting aside all our usual, "natural" assumptions about
the phenomena. You can't hear it if you are loudly telling it what it is!
Practically speaking, this means we must put aside our biases,
prejudices, theories, philosophies, religions, even common sense, and
accept the phenomenon for what it is.
(http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/qualmethone.html) C. George Boeree ,Shippensburg University
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Read your account of what you feel, think and
how you physically react when angry.
Listen to others in your group read their
accounts.
Do you notice any common phrases, words, or
themes?
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Underline/circle all phrases or comments that
are similar.
Group all of your similarities/commonalities
by theme.
Now you are ready to write a description of the
“essence” of anger.
Once the essence of the phenomenon has been discovered through
comparing information found in interviews, surveys, observations
etc. and commonalities have been found and themed, you are
ready to take the final step and produce a final product that
demonstrates the essence of the phenomenon you were studying.
The final product may be a rich written description in a research
paper format or can take on a more artistic format such as poetry,
film or visual art.
Muni Railway
A Trip Through The Tunnel
Phenomenology
(www.youtube.com)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUYU1W3eMsw&feature=fvsr