Page 22 [22]
20 a USING INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Phenomenology is a science of studying experience which was one of the
most determinative philosophical movements of the 20" century. Edmund
Husserl developed it, and it is concerned what the experience of being human
is like in all its various aspects. In other words, it tries to identify the essential
components of the experience which make it unique and distinguishable from
others. Phenomenological philosophy provides a rich source of ideas to psy¬
chologist how to examine a comprehend experience. Thus, phenomenological
studies focus on how people perceive and talk about events and objects and
try not to describe them by predetermined categories and scientific standards.
The phenomenological inquiry also applies “bracketing” the own preconcep¬
tions, and attempt to understand what it is like to “stand in the shoes” of the
subject (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014; Smith et al., 2009). There are many dif¬
ferent emphasis and interests amongst phenomenologists (Husserl, Heidegger,
Merleau-Ponty, Sartre), but to provide a detailed overview of these contribu¬
tions is not the aim of the present book.
The second principal theoretical root of IPA comes from hermeneutics
which is a theory of interpretation. It is developed as a philosophical under¬
pinning for the interpretation of a wide range of texts, such as historical
documents. According to Gadamer (1975), some experiences are not able to
be reached by standardized methods. The concept of the “hermeneutic cycle”
was improved by him, which means that the meaning of the whole text could
be reached through its parts, and the meaning of the part could be understood
through the whole text in which it is embedded. Thus, the process of inter¬
pretation is defined as a circular motion, new information could give new
understanding to previous knowledge. The most critical hermeneutic theorists
are Schleiermacher, Heidegger, and Gadamer. Hermeneutics offers an essen¬
tial theoretical insight for IPA that is concerned with how the experience
appears and makes the analyst to be committed to making sense of this ap¬
pearance (Eatough & Smith, 2008; Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014; Smith et al.,
2009; Smith & Osborn, 2007).
Since IPA is based on ideas from phenomenology and hermeneutics, this
is a descriptive method that tries to uncover how things appear and it is letting
things speak for themselves and also interpretative because it is aware that
there is no such thing as an uninterpreted phenomenon (Pietkiewicz & Smith,
2014).
The third significant influence upon IPA is idiography that is concerned
with the particular. It is in contrast to the mainstream inquiry of psychology
which is working with “nomothetic” approach (Smith et al., 2009). Idiography
means an in-depth analysis of single cases and examines experiences in their
unique contexts (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014). IPAs commitment to idiography
operates at two levels. First, there is a commitment to the particular in the
sense of detail and the depth of the analysis. Second, IPA is committed to