Strengths and some cautions when 'doing phenomenology'

I've been writing up my methodology and findings from a pilot study, but alongside the traditional academic form I've been taken with using Sway recently to develop my thinking and 'mull over' data collection in the phenomenological sense.

The hermeneutic circle is a metaphor for understanding and interpretation, which is viewed as a movement between parts (data) and whole (evolving understanding of the phenomenon), each giving meaning to the other such that understanding is circular and iterative (Ajjawi and Higgs, 2007). In doing phenomenological analysis I engage with interview data using the hermeneutic circle, transcripts and dialogue with research participants to facilitate a process of interpretation that will lead to a fusion of horizons as understanding takes place. The approach is now one that I take more widely in my work and extend to other areas, finding the movement between the whole and the parts allows me to make connections with the literature, take back to lived experiences and vice versa.

Header image by Pavel Danilyuk @pexels