Doing a Hermeneutic Phenomenology Research Underpinned by Gadamer’s Philosophy: A Framework to Facilitate Data Analysis

Abstract

Phenomenology is an umbrella term that refers to both a philosophical movement and a variety of research approaches. Hermeneutic phenomenology is a methodology, which is not rigidly set or prescribed. Hence, students and researchers using a hermeneutic phenomenology approach underpinned by Gadamer’s philosophy may struggle to apply his concepts while analysing data. This article describes a new framework that provides guidance on how to analyse data in a research study while remaining faithful to the major tenets of Gadamer’s work (pre-understandings, hermeneutic circle and fusion of horizons) and closely adhering to the central tenets. The framework provides a step-by-step strategy to ensure rigour while maintaining trustworthiness. This may serve as a useful guide for neophyte students and researchers using or considering Gadamer’s version of hermeneutic phenomenology in their studies.

Hermeneutic-Phenomenological Interpretation of Coronavirus Experiences, Their Meanings, and the Prospects of Young Finns in Education and the Labor Market in Lapland

“…This qualitative study has a philosophical approach not bound by the structured stages of a method. However, there are sources that address the practical aspects of how to carry out a phenomenological study [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. The research question impacts the whole research process, for which Gadamer (1960) [26] used the concept of gaining insight to gather research data.…”

“…This is possible through open dialogue between the researcher and the subjects of the research. (Gaining an understanding through interview dialogue, and with the interview transcript text and its analysis, listening to the recordings of the interviews once again, I wrote my own field notes next to the transcript text of the interviews, which describe the context and emotions from the recordings [27,33,34]). In this article, hermeneutics emphasizes how young people interpret the coronavirus phenomenon and its meanings for them, and phenomenology emphasizes the coronavirus experiences of young people and the formation of an understanding of it.…”

“…The literature from the whole material was linked to the identified themes and subthemes. Based on the themes, the subthemes, and their interrelationships, I reconstructed young people's coronavirus experiences into a story in their own words (so-called first-degree constructs) to illuminate phenomena and highlight key observations from the interview data [27,33,34,40,41]. The synthesis and theme development represent my horizons, forming abstractions based on my research knowledge about the studies of worldview formation, social capital, and identity horizons [8,37,38].…”

“…The literature from the whole material was linked to the identified themes and subthemes. Based on the themes, the subthemes, and their interrelationships, I reconstructed young people's coronavirus experiences into a story in their own words (socalled first-degree constructs) to illuminate phenomena and highlight key observations from the interview data [27,33,34,40,41].…”

“…In the analysis of the material, I went through the interviews many times, checking forward and backward, noting whose voices In hermeneutic-phenomenological research, methodological consistency required openness and sensitivity when listening to the interview of each participant to ensure that their perspectives (horizons) were clearly noticed and presented as authentically as possible. (Methodological consistency should be reflected throughout the research process in a nonlinear manner as the researcher moves back and forth between the frame of reference to ensure consistency between the research question, the literature, data collection, and analysis [34,42]). Providing direct quotes from interview transcripts helped to validate the data and to assess the reliability of the research.…”