Design of Phenomenological Research

Design of Phenomenological ResearchThis is a philosophical movement concerned with the study of conscious begin, from the point of idea of the first person (Moran, 2000). There is emphasis on the intentionality of experience that is, the idea that conscious experience is directed towards nearly phenomena, rather than being merely aimless. such purposefulness is commonly contained in the meaning that the first person ascribes to his or her experience. Human experience is said to be conscious, meaning that we be somehow usually aware of an experience as it is happening, as opposed to for example Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic view in which experience isnt always conscious. cognizant experience is defined in broad terms, incorporating a wide range of factors including sensation, perception, objects, events, time, self, others, space, sequence, emotion, logic, and so on, with particular emphasis on the meanings of these experiences (two individuals whitethorn have exactly the sam e experience, heretofore attach completely disparate meanings). Historically, phenomenology has been a fragmented philosophy, with numerous variations emerging and becoming established especially since the early part of the 20th century, deriving from plant life of philosophers like Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Satre, Edmund Husserl, G.W.F Hegel, Max Scheler, and others. The basic tradition of Anglo-Saxon European philosophy as we know it has been dominated by phenomenology throughout the last century, and currently provides the philosophical basis for a major part of clinical studies, usually subsumed under the heading of qualitative research.EXPERIMENTAL (SCIENTIFIC) APPROACHScientific experimentation forms part of the wider tralatitious positivist doctrine, developed by Auguste Comte during the early part of the nineteenth century (Coolican, 1994). Positivism dictates that only phenomena that can be quantified and measured, are worthy of scientific experimentation. emergent f rom this philosophy is the hypothetico-deductive doctrine, which means making observations, developing theories, formulating and streamleting predictions from those theories, and modifying or supporting the theory accordingly. This procedure is what many detectives refer to as the scientific method. Experimentation is a great deal regarded as the gold standard in scientific (clinical) research. It entails the deliberate manipulation of variables under controlled conditions, in order to establish causality, and important factor in clinical settings. Control is achieved primarily by random allocation of participants to conditions, effectively distributing any differences between people evenly across the conditions, and whence balancing things out. some(prenominal) experiments are also conducted in a controlled surroundings, such as laboratory. Experimentation is underpinned by a number of assumptions, including the idea that people can be disjunct from their social environment and treated as a group rather than as individuals. Further more(prenominal), it is possible for the researcher to remain objective, remaining distant from the subject and hence having no influence on their behaviour.RESEARCH METHODSAims and ObjectivesPhenomenological research is exploratory, seeking to understand peoples conscious experiences through that persons own viewpoint, what ever it may be.By contrast experimentation focuses on testing specific hypotheses, which have usually been selected by the researcher, hence reflecting the researchers own perspectives, rather than those of the participant. For example, take the case of a uncomplaining who has recently being diagnosed as anorexic. She is receiving treatment but there is a need for research to establish whether the treatment is having the desired effect. Phenomenology will focus on the patients own conscious experience of anorexia and recovery, and the meaning she attaches to these experiences. For example, the individu al may view anorexia as a devastating experience with smelling that she is non recovering despite her treatment. The whole experience may have created a sense of revulsion about her condition and pessimism about the recovery. The phenomenologist will try to explore to use Husserls Greek terms her noesis or intentional act of consciousness (e.g. her beliefs and feelings) and noematic, meaning the object or phenomena (anorexia, recovery). By contrast, the experimenter will aim to test hypotheses that the treatment is or isnt effective in eliciting recovery, which will be appraised in quantifiable terms, such as changes in body-mass index, inception sugar levels, and blood pressure. Given the different aims/objectives (i.e. exploration, hypothesis testing), the experimenter and phenomenologist could arrive at completely different conclusions. For example, the patient may feel and believe they are not getting mend albeit experimental (medical) parameters suggest otherwise.Researc h Questions HypothesesPhenomenological questions typically exploratory, contending how an individual has consciously experienced a phenomenon, such as illness or disease. There are no hypotheses. The question can take any one of several forms, depending on the area of phenomenology. For example, existential phenomenology will inquire about the persons experience of destitute choice (e.g. in selecting their treatment), generative phenomenology will explore the meaning of the phenomena to the individual with reference to historical factors (e.g. the way a disease has historically been interpreted in their society), while a transcendental phenomenology will ask about the persons conscious experiences completely excluding questions about the external environment (e.g. how the disease is experienced, careless(predicate) the hospital environment, treatments, and other external factors). Experimental questions are very much more precise, asking whether there is a family between two o r more variables. The question is usually accompanied by testable hypotheses, which specify whether or not a relationship exists and the direction (i.e. positive or negative) of the relationship. So, for example the experimenter will ask whether a particular intervention will cure the illness, accompanied by a hypothesis (e.g. the intervention significantly improves health outcomes). Unlikely phenomenology, the experimental border on rarely involves exploratory or open-ended questions as it is a requirement that all variables (independent and dependent) are stipulate a priori. However, statements of hypotheses can be two-tailed whereby the precise relationship expected between two variables is left open (i.e. not specified).DesignPhenomenological research is typically unstructured, with no specific design or format. The researcher is at liberty to proceed as they see fit, merely ensuring that they conform to the basic tenets of philosophy, notably emphasising the first-person and t argeting their conscious experience. The setting is usually realistic or naturalistic, so for example, no move is made to remove the patient from their natural environment1. Experimental research is traditionally highly structured. There are specific designs available to the researcher, each(prenominal) with set parameters or protocols. Randomisation of subjects to conditions is critical, to minimise the counfounding effects of nuisance variables. Therefore it is essential to recruit a sample of individuals who serve as participants. They can both be exposed to all conditions of the experiment, leading to a within-groups design, or designate to just one of the conditions, creating a between-groups design. Independent and dependent variables must be specified clearly, so that there is no uncertainty about the conditions being manipulated, the direction of causality, and outcome measures. The setting is typically artificial for example a laboratory with a low degree of realism. It is important to point out that some phenonemonological research assumes that conscious experience is a function of neurological activity in the brain, know as neurophenomenology. This overlap with physiological sciences means that an experimental design may be used to establish the authenticity of certain aspects of conscious experience (e.g. find out whether an experience of motor activity is accompanied by electrical activity in the appropriate regions of the brain). info CollectionData is typically collected utilise one-to-one interviews between the researcher and the participant, rather similar to private sessions between a patient and their psychiatrist or psychotherapist. The interviews are typically open-ended, thereby let things show themselves, to use Heideggers terms. Data collection in experimentation may involve one or more techniques including observational methods (participant and non-participant observation, role play and simulation, the diary method, and natura listic observation), interviews and surveys (psychometric tests, structured/semi-structured interviews, clinical method). Whatever technique is used, the goal is to generate quantitative data which would allow mathematical assessments of reliability and validity, and also statistical analysis. Reliability relates to the consistency of a participants responses, while validity indicates whether the appropriate phenomenon of interest is being measured in the first place. Questions in interviews and surveys are typically close-ended, so that the participant can only respond using a pre-determined range of options provided by the experimenter.Data AnalysisThe phenomenological method assumes first-person familiarity with the particular experience of interest to the researcher. Data analysis essentially entails description of a conscious experience exactly as it is lived by the participant and presented to the researcher, who does not interfere. The researcher may then attempt to interpret the experience from their particular phenomenological perspective. For example, hermeneutical phenomenologists, such as Heidegger, will try to make sense of the experience by placing it in a social and linguistic context (e.g. who else is involved, and how do the parties communicate). By contrast a naturalistic constitutive phenomenologist will relate the experience to nature, seeking out links with natural environment (e.g. climate, culture, ecology). Regardless of their area of phenomenology, it is essential for the researcher to analyse the type of experience presented, identifying any unique features for further investigation. More recently, data analysis may entail a logico-semantic cost that aims to identify the truth of an experience (e.g. this disease can be cured) and the conditions necessary to satisfy an intention (e.g. I will feel better if I take my medicine). Phenomenologists also use modern techniques for analysing qualitative data, such as thematic analysis, typolo gies, quotations, and so on. Data analysis in experimentation requires the use of statistical tests in order to establish the significance of any observed changes in the dependent variable, following manipulation of the independent variable. Usually, a level of significance is set, depicting a specific probability (e.g. .05) that observed differences between groups or conditions occurred by chance. Typically, the probability of chance must be qualified to or less than the chosen significance level in order for the test results to be regarded as significant. There is no attempt by the experimenter to call in any interpretation or subjective analysis on the data without the use of statistical tools, which introduce some mathematical objectivity. However, the likelihood of obtaining significant results is often affected by analytic and methodological considerations, such as the sample size and the sensitivity of the chosen statistical test. Furthermore, results that are statistically significant may nevertheless have little or no clinical significance, for example in terms of Quality Life Years, and morbidity and mortality rates.Table 1 Differences between phenomenological and experimental approaches (selected issues)PhenomenologicalExperimentalMethodUnstructuredStructuredResearch QuestionExploratoryHypothesis testingPerspectiveFirst-personThird-personSubject MatterConscious experienceQuantifiable phenomenaData AnalysisIntuitiveStatisticalSettingNaturalisticArtificialClinical ApplicationDetailed insightEfficacyclinical PRACTICE Phenomenological and experimental approaches both have an important role to play in clinical practice. Nevertheless, each method may offer very different perspectives on the same medical quandary, or may be more suited to certain problems rather than others. Consider the effectiveness of nurse-led thrombolysis on patients present at an Accidence Emergency unit with cardiac symptoms. A phenomenological approach would be suitable for obta ining detailed insights into nurses feelings about their effectiveness in administering the procedure, their confidence, doubts, anxieties, suspicions, resentments, and other feelings and beliefs that may formulate their clinical competence or otherwise. This may provide managers and consultants with valued ideas about how to support nurses, hence improving service delivery. By contrast the experimental approach will be more amenable to establishing the clinical effectiveness of nurse-initiated thrombolysis, for example in terms of the percentage of fatalities and door-to-needle times. A E units could be randomly assigned to a condition in which nurses implement thrombolytic procedures, or a control condition in which the intervention is performed by busy consultants. Patient ecstasy rates and hospital delays could then be compared across both conditions using statistical procedures. Although phenomenology and experimentation approach the problem differently, findings from both p aradigms will have some clinical benefit if service delivery is ultimately improved.BIBLIOGRAPHYCoolican, H. (1994) Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology. London Hodder Stoughton.Moran, D. (2000) Introduction to Phenomenology. London and New YorkRoutledge.Smith, B. Smith, D.W. (eds.) (1995) The Cambridge Companion to HusserlCambridge and New York Cambridge University Press.Wikipedia (2006) Phenomenology online. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Availablefrom http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology/ Accessed 22 July 2006.Footnotes1 Although in the interest of privacy researcher and patient may seek a quiet location that may be somewhat atypical of the subjects usual setting.