Empirical and hermeneutic approaches to phenomenological research in psychology: a comparison

Empirical phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology, the 2 most common approaches to phenomenological research in psychology, are described, and their similarities and differences examined. A specific method associated with each form of phenomenological inquiry was used to analyze an interview tra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychological methods Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 3
Main Authors Hein, S F, Austin, W J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.2001
Subjects
Adult
Existentialism - psychology
Female
Gender Identity
Gestalt Theory
Humans
Models, Psychological
Psychotherapeutic Processes
Psychotherapy - methods
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Summary:Empirical phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology, the 2 most common approaches to phenomenological research in psychology, are described, and their similarities and differences examined. A specific method associated with each form of phenomenological inquiry was used to analyze an interview transcript of a woman's experience of work-family role conflict. A considerable degree of similarity was found in the resulting descriptions. It is argued that such convergence in analyses is due to the human capacities of reflection and intuition and the presence of intersubjective meanings. The similarity in the analyses is also encouraging about researchers' ability to reveal meaning despite the use of different methods and the difficulties associated with interpreting meaning.
ISSN:1082-989X
DOI:10.1037/1082-989X.6.1.3