Examining Researchers’ Pre-Understandings as a Part of the Reflexive Journey in Hermeneutic Research

Abstract

This article considers one of the philosophical sources of reflexivity, the concept of “pre-understandings” as envisaged by the German philosopher, Hans Georg Gadamer. There are a number of empirical research studies employing a Gadamerian approach, and while some authors may describe methods of examining pre-understandings and applying findings reflexively to hermeneutic enquiry, there remains a general lack of sufficient detail given over to the “how” in relation to this process. Furthermore, Gadamer describes how the “provoking” of one’s pre-understandings is required in order to make them realizable and this is rarely evident within authors’ work. As part of a hermeneutic research project exploring health professionals’ views of conscientious objection to abortion, we as a research team undertook a process of “provoking” our pre-understandings surrounding conscientious objection to abortion. This was undertaken by a preliminary discussion to examine our preunderstandings. A second discussion followed to examine if and how our pre-understandings had altered, and was conducted after the research team had read five transcribed interviews from a study on health care professionals’ perspectives of conscientious objection to abortion. By reviewing our pre-understandings, we were able to begin to make conscious what was unconscious, widening some of our initial views, being more definitive in others and in some cases endorsing our original pre-understandings. Using a reflexive process, we assimilated these findings with our research project and used it to inform our data collection, analysis and interpretation, demonstrating the application of rigor to our hermeneutic study.

Relationships influencing caring in first‐line nursing leadership: A visual hermeneutic study

“…We reflected upon our preunderstandings prior to data collection individually. After each session, the first author RS made notes concerning the interviews, focusing on the preunderstanding, particularly where they may have changed and discussed this with AK [60].…”

Blurring Boundaries: Balancing between Distance and Proximity in Qualitative Research Studies With Vulnerable Participants

“…When conducting qualitative research studies that aim to grasp the personal experiences of research participants, Maxwell et al (2020) encourage researchers to make explicit and reflect upon their pre-understanding of the research topic, as this may elucidate a deeper understanding of the topic and create transparency in the data analysis. All three authors have substantial prior experience with conducting qualitative interviews with vulnerable groups.…”

Women’s experience with religion and spirituality when perceiving their husband’s pornography use as problematic: A qualitative study

“…The first author's relationship with the phenomenon as a leader in her faith community, having worked with several women experiencing pornography use by a spouse, has given her a pre-understanding of the participants' lived experiences (Maxwell et al, 2020). This pre-understanding has the advantage of empathetically leading participants to feel more comfortable sharing their experiences, understanding the cultural underpinnings, asking meaningful questions, and deeply reflecting on what the women were experiencing.…”