Interpretative phenomenological analysis: a discussion and critique

Abstract

Achieving a greater understanding of experiences in health care and illness can improve service provision. It is only by understanding meanings that nurses can influence health behaviour and lifestyles.

The use of phenomenology in mental health nursing research

“…There are divisions in the discipline about the methods and characteristics by which phenomenology defines itself. The two main branches are: 'descriptive phenomenology', which is the original form and aims to uncover and describe the meanings of people's experiences; and 'interpretive phenomenology' or 'hermeneutics', which aims to interpret the meanings of people's descriptions (Heidegger 1927, Pringle et al 2011. Husserl (2004) claimed the acquisition of subjective qualitative knowledge is a precursor to the attainment of objective quantitative knowledge.…”

“…The research must capture the participants' perspectives in their own words then describe their experiences as authentically as possible (Van Manen 2014). Phenomenological researchers use 'bracketing' to suspend or reduce their influence on their studies and to set aside any assumptions about the phenomena they are studying (Pringle et al 2011). Methods of bracketing vary and may involve writing memos or a reflective journal, or being supervised through interviews.…”

“…Drawn from descriptive phenomenology, interpretive phenomenology's analytic methods (Giorgi 1997, Anderson and Eppard 1998, Martins 2008) systemically guide the researcher to identify the commonalities between participants' accounts. These are then categorised into structural elements and themes that are essential to the core meaning that best describes the participants' experiences and can be drawn on to contribute to theoretical understanding (Pringle et al 2011). But as interpretive phenomenology is more critical than descriptive phenomenology, it examines the participants' descriptions to identify contrasting themes as well as similarities (Heidegger 1927 …”

Sexuality in the Therapeutic Relationship: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Gay Therapists

“…The strengths posed by Pringle et al (2011) regarding IPA studies were the fundamental privilege placed upon the individual experience of the participant and their perspective to provide richness in the data found. A limitation to such an approach described the level of transferability that could be claimed following the use Dr James Christopher Porter Doctoral Portfolio in Counselling Psychology!…”

“…A limitation would be found in the transferability of this study to other LGB therapists in general (Pringle, 2011). As the aim of this study was to investigate at a deeper experiential level (Smith et al, 2009) a small homogenous sample was necessary to achieve this and so should be viewed as placing privilege upon the individual participant experience, thus providing a different perspective in comparison to another qualitative approach such as grounded theory (Barbour, 2007).…”