Elite Research Statistical Consulting

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

After you have defined your research questions, aims, or goals, the next step is to identify your research design. Your research questions or goals inform the type of research design that you will use. There are some research designs that are informed by a particular field of study and expanded to other settings and disciplines. Other research designs are informed by theory.

Phenomenology

What is it? Phenomenology is a research approach that focuses on the shared experiences of a group of people with the aim to understand the nature and meaning of their experience. The main purpose of the researcher is to develop an overall understanding of participants’ experiences and what makes it what it is.

There are two types of phenomenology: hermeneutic and transcendental/psychological. Hermeneutic phenomenology explores the lived experiences and participants’ interpretation of their lives. While in transcendental/psychological phenomenology, the researcher reflects on and describes participants’ meaning-making experiences. A key aspect of this research is that the researcher seeks to set aside his/her personal experiences and thoughts to understand the phenomenon through bracketing or epoche.

Data is gathered from a group of people who have a common experience. Participants of the study need to be carefully chosen to ensure that they all have the same experience of a phenomenon identified in the research question. Our consultants can help you identify characteristics needed for the participants in your project.