Definition.
Phenomenology as a research methodology is the study of lived experience.
Phenomenological research asks, What is this phenomenon or event like and how does it show itself in or as experience?
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Phenomenological research is drawn and adapted from pre-reflective accounts of the phenomenon under study.
For instance, a phenomenological inquiry might ask, What is it like to type on a keyboard?
In that case, a phenomenological subject might type on a keyboard for twenty minutes.
After that typing experience, the subject would then write a journal entry about that experience. Such entries should be pre-reflective, meaning that they convey raw experience,
rather than engaging in reflections, thoughts or judgements about the experience. For example:
- Pre-reflective writing
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There is the powerful sense of movement-sound, that I am moving and clacking all at once. A springing sensation. I imagine tiny people under the keys resisting me, pushing back.
- Reflective writing
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With every click of a key, I became connected to a long line of typists, millions of people typing on typewriters and keyboards, since the typewriter was first invented in the 1800s. How incredible to be a part of such a long tradition!
Pre-reflective accounts may come from directly from the researcher’s experience or they may be collected from participants in a study. These accounts become the raw data of the study, which is then developed into phenomenological prose.