Introduction and Perspectives
As a post-positivist, I believe in the idea that knowledge, values, and the background of the research can control the phenomena that is being observed. The objective truth can be attained through considering the probable effects of the biases on the phenomenon. In this paper, I will be discussing phenomenology as a theoretical perspective when conducting a research. In addition, the phenomenological research methodology centers on the return to the experiential meaning (being experiences) and personal meanings because its main objectives are to capture the complex, rich, new descriptions of the phenomenon that is being experienced by the researched. The main concern of phenomenology is that it requires the response of the subjective connection between the respondents of the study and the research and the phenomenon that is being observed. The data that are gathered in phenomenology are the descriptions of the respondents with regards to the events they have experienced firsthand. It begins with tangible descriptions of the lived experiences, which are frequently accounts in the first person and are established in language that is used every day, avoiding the complex intellectual overview of the lived situations.
Phenomenology is the common procedure of ‘reading between the lines,” which can result in ambiguity. Phenomenology emerged from the hermeneutic philosophers and it was formally established by Edmund Husserl. It is based on the researcher’s interpretation of a phenomenon where in the interpretation is not a procedure that adds the phenomena; rather, it represents the main framework and certainty of our existence in the world. The researchers in phenomenology consider the subjective truth or biases as highly possible in a research because phenomenology is characterized as the interdependence and inter-subjectivity of the research and the participants (Finlay 2009). I believe that phenomenology as a theoretical perspective that is valuable because it helps the researcher understand the complex reality of the phenomena based on the descriptions of the participants who experienced the situation first hand. I’m interested in phenomenology because it helps me to understand the phenomenon through the lived experience of the respondents. I have used phenomenology as a research design in my previous research in order to get a rich description of the lived experiences of the participants, obtain data, and interpret them into meanings.
Qualitative Project and Questions
Phenomenology is a qualitative research methodology because this type of research design does not use statistical data. The phenomenological research attempts to illustrate the phenomenon rather than explain it and view it as independent from presumption and hypotheses.
The process of gathering data in phenomenology is through interviews and focus groups, similar to other qualitative research methods of data collection. Husserl (as cited in Chan et al 2013) claimed, understanding the phenomenon based on the description of the respondents’ experiences cannot be considered as a meaning that is fixed; rather, the meaning is changed and established. Hence, in order for the researcher to understand the phenomenon, they must use the ‘bracketing procedure’. This procedure helps the researcher understand the complex reality of the phenomenon without manipulating the understanding the respondents. The bracketing procedure is a phenomenological methodology that requires the researcher to avoid allowing their own belief with regards to the phenomena that is being observed or their existing knowledge on the subject and the entire process of the phenomenological research to influence their interpretation of the phenomenon. In addition, the process of bracketing is a method of validating the gathered data for the research and the analyzing procedure. In order for the researcher to understand the description of the respondents about the events and correctly describe the lived experiences, they must put aside their own beliefs, values, knowledge, and experiences (Chan et al 2013).
Potential Semester Project
The potential project that I could conduct for this semester is to examine the lived experiences of the civilians and soldiers who had firsthand experience in World War II. It will use the phenomenological theoretical perspective as a research design.
The phenomenological research’s main objective is to describe the phenomenon as correctly as possible rather than explaining the event and at the same time avoiding the pre-existing structure but still remaining true to the facts. Given that the potential project that I will be conducting for the semester focuses on the lived experiences of the respondents, the phenomenology is the appropriate research design for the study. In addition, the process of the data gathering in a phenomenological research is through a qualitative interview because an interview involves an interchange of the perspectives of the two individuals who will interact on the theme of the shared interest. The research that utilizes this type of research design seeks to understand the phenomenon through the perspective of the participants in order to explore the meaning of the experiences of the respondents (Groenwald 2004). It also aims to accurately describe World War II through the lens of the soldiers and civilians who have experienced the war, in turn preserving their stories and legacy.
References
Chan, Z.; Fung, Y.L & Chien, W.T. (2013). Bracketing in Phenomenology: Only Undertaken in
the Data Collection and Analysis Process. The Qualitative Report, Vol. 18(59), pp. 1 – 9
Finlay, L. (2009). Debating Phenomenological Research. Phenomenology & Practice, Vol. 3(1),
pp. 6-25
Groenwald, T. (2004). A Phenomenological Research Design Illustrated. International Journal of
Qualitative Methods, Vol. 3(1), pp. 1-26
