Petalouda, just to clarify 'transcendental phenomenology', I have taken this quote from Moustakas who is discussing Husserl and transcendental phenomenology: "It emphasises subjectivity and discovery of the essences of experience and provides a systematic and disciplined methodology for the derivation of knowledge".

So in effect, what this is saying is that within a person or being's subjective experience is a valuable form of knowledge or understanding that is as real or as tangible as anything else in the world as we know it. The methodology provides a process whereby this knowledge can be known and understood in its essential (and abstract form). The methodology also helps us understand and separate our own biases from this knowledge, although some might argue that we can't really do this-that all knowledge is a construction or by product of the relationship between two subjects. This might be more of a Van Manen perspective-although I would have to look at his book again-its been a couple of months and I'm a part time PhD student, so my knowledge comes in spurts and waxes and wanes a little depending on how busy my work & life 'world' is.

I don't know which I believe quite frankly, but with Moustakas, at least with the epoche, I have a way of separating some of my own assumptions and prejudices out from my observations-and as I am recording and then transcribing, looking for themes and clusters of meanings. I like his focus on structures as well-how participants might experience time, space and other relationships impacting on their own professional practice but in the microview or lens-rather than the macro lens. But I also like finding this out, not necessarily by asking this as a question, but by looking how it comes out in the essential themes of their conversations-almost unconsciously.

How nice to have a little son who loves the computer-my youngest son has just obtained a graduate software programming job in the city (Sydney) and has loved computers for many years. I just have a smelly little dog now greeting me with a 'manky old bone' that I am trying to prevent him from sneaking into the house!

Hi Petalouda, I'm about to head into work for the day, so will make this brief but will come back later this evening and clarify anything if needed. I am in education and that is originally why I chose Van Manen (given his work with educators and children) but I personally can cope with only so much 'open endedness'-just part of my personality. I like to keep things open for so long and then I need to end up with a product. (In this case, my thesis).

I am using what is called empirical transcendental (or psychological) phenomenology. I wish it was just called empirical (but that's me and it wouldn't be completely accurate anyway). But I am using a combination of interviews, observations and a short written reflection from my participants. I am hoping to have around 9-10 participants. However, my supervisor wants a little bit of mixed methods in there, so she has asked me to survey a group as well (very good but no teachers in my three research sites have time to do the online survey, so now I have to go and invade their staff meetings with a hard copy later this year).

My participants will also include children and ancilliary staff, so they may form part of the observation and conversations as well. I had a formidible ethics application to do and none of my research involves my own school, students or staff working at my own place.

I may have to adapt some methodologies overall but when it comes to the data forming around each participant I intend to follow a step by step process outlined in Moustakas (1994) on page 120, called a modification of the Van Kaam process.

Moustakas, C. (1994) Phenomenological Research Methods. Sage Publications.

Thank you very much for the Finlay references-they look to be really helpful. You are further ahead than me, so I am not sure how helpful my input will be though.

Additionally, I have copied and pasted a small excerpt from a paper on "Introduction to Phenomenology" (found on google search) by Linda Finlay (no date given).

This quote below provides useful examples of different types of phenomenology.

______________________________________________________________________
A descriptive empirical phenomenologist might well ask: ‘What is the lived experience of feeling lost?’ They might compare the protocols (written descriptions) offered by participants about one instance of feeling lost and attempt to identify the essential or general structures underlying the phenomenon of feeling lost.

The heuristic researcher could well focus more intensely on the question: ‘What is my experience of feeling lost?’ While they might draw on a range of data from stories, poems, artwork, literature, journals, they would also look inward, attending to their own feelings/experiences by using a reflective diary. They would aim to produce a composite description and creative synthesis of the experience.

A lifeworld researcher would ask ‘What is the lifeworld of one who feels lost?’ Collecting and analysing interview data, they would focus on existential themes such as the person’s sense of self-identity and embodied relations with others when experiencing a feeling of being lost.

The IPA researcher would focus on ‘What is the individual experience of feeling lost?’ They would aim to capture individual variations between co-researchers. Thematic analysis would involve some explicit interpretation on the part of both co-researcher and researcher.

The Critical Narrative Approach researcher would ask ‘What story or stories does a person tell of their experience of feeling lost?’ having interviewed perhaps just one person. The analysis would be focused on the narrative produced and how it was co-created in the research context.

The Relational researcher might similarly interview just one person asking ask ‘What is it like to feel lost?’. They might focus on the co-researchers’ self-identity and ‘creative adjustment’ (their sense of self, their being-in-the-world and the defensive way they’ve learned to cope). The research data would be seen to be co-created in the dialogical research encounter and the relational dynamics between researcher and co-researchers would be reflexively explored
(Quote above taken from 'Introduction to Phenomenology', Linda Finlay, lindafinlay.com.uk).

Hi Petalouda, when I was looking for suitable methodologies for my study, I was drawn to phenomenology, not sure why. My supervisor originally suggested grounded theory and I was all set to take this approach but ultimately didn't feel this was right for me or the study after a lot of thought, although I really liked Charmaz and constructivist GT as a method overall.

Anyway, in my search I found Van Manen and hermaneutical phenomenology just by browsing around. I immediately felt that phenomenology was a method that was 'right' and was going to follow his methods but then read some more and now am following Moustakas-who advocates empirical, transcendental or psychological, phenomenology.

I read enough of the theory to get a 'gut feeling' about which one would suit me, my style and the study more and in the end I stuck with Moustakas.

Van Manen seems to advocate an interpretation of the phenonemon-which is perceived or viewed in a holistic way-sort of like an event-it's described like an interpretation or a mediation of lived experience. However, it sort sounds like IPA as well. Though perhaps IPA uses a less open-ended process (?).

Moustakas has a more structured method that results in a rich description of the participants' experiences. This approach seemed a little more like my own way of approaching things anyway, which is why I went with it. I guess finally I liked the structure of Moustakas-that I could use epoche (to bracket out my own experience) and I liked the idea of a rich and textured description of participant experiences, where I could use the themes, etc, to also create a structured description of all aspects of the phenonemon (or what was actually happening).

I borrowed out both books by Van Manen and Moustakas from the uni library but finally found this text below really helpful-and bought it because it was such a useful guide. You might find it helpful but while it has phenomenology as one of its five approaches-it doesn't have a lot about IPA.

Creswell, J.W. (2013) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches 3rd Ed. CA: Sage Publications.

This is a really interesting topic and thread, and I have loved reading the shared wisdom and knowledge that it has inspired. Huhu, I hope all goes well over the next few months, also hoping that the uneasy feelings and recovery year Ian has mentioned for in his post is over shortly.

Hi Shariru, welcome to the site. Its a great resource and, often times, a solace as well. I can't offer any insights at all in nanotechnology, but I'm sure there are many others who can.

Hope you travel well over the next few months and can get lots of useful information that applies to your research.

Hi, no, I think Ive hijacked Bradley's original post enough and grounded theory isn't the methodology that I will be using anyway, so I'm going to keep this short (for me that's hard:) ) Your summary reads well and i like that you are making sure the academic 'warnings' are taken with balance.

I really do have to go on to my own lit review though because unfortunately I don't have any options at all about whether I will do it or not or when I will do it for that matter :(. Good luck with your study and good luck to Bradley as well...off now to dinner and then some reading.

Hi Meaninlife, I did understand what you were saying but perhaps my writing wasn't clear enough in expressing what I was trying to say.

I was trying to say that even when using this approach in grounded theory, I have read counterclaims to this when reviewing the approaches for a brief methods explanation for my ethics review. We (Research students at Postgrad seminars) were given general advice in seminars last year that this (not doing any lit review type reading in grounded theory) is still not necessarily a wise approach to take as we wouldn't know enough to really recognise the theory and we would need a preliminary lit review or background for our ethics applications anyway. What was recommended was a sort of hybrid if you were going the grounded theory road with lots of caveats and stern warnings.

But I do understand the approach of not beginning with the lit review for pure grounded theory and why this approach is posited.

However it is fine anyway as it is up to all candidates finally to choose their own approach and work out what is best for them. We are all only giving advice based on a position and limited experience and certainly don't expect people to take it if it doesn't fit.

Have a nice day ...my day is all at work today so I'm hoping that I get a lot of admin done at workso that I can clock up an hour of intense reading tonight without being too tired.

I seem to remember that Strauss and Corbin advise this if you are using grounded theory as a methodology but this advice would only apply to fairly pure grounded theory-and I know that in my seminars that I attended last year for the course work component, when this was brought up by other students, some quite sceptical looks and responses were given by the academics giving the seminars. Could just be some academics prejudice against grounded theory I guess though.

It doesn't apply necessarily to other methodologies for qualitative research-grounded theory is basically only one method of a suite.

The other thing I have found is that without any real background 'which is what comes across in your lit review', you are pretty much faffing around in data collection without any real purpose at all. Which is fine if this is your third or fourth study, you already have the PhD and have moved on, and you have quite a bit of experience in knowing what to do or what to look for but can be pretty dire when doing the PhD. Basically this is our 'apprenticeship' for research so it might be difficult to know what to look for without any 'grounding' in the literature.

But I guess in this case, you would need to go back to the literature for your methodology and create a plan from there. Anyway, up to you...better stop finding excuses to avoid my own literature review this weekend and get back to work:)

Hi Satchi, my understanding is a doctorate of any type enables you to be addressed as 'Dr'-however, I think that there is a convention whereby you either use the address
'Dr Sally Jones' in print OR 'Sally JOnes D.H.Sc' (or Sally Jones PhD-whichever it is).
What you don't do is say 'Dr Sally Jones D.H.Sc' or 'Dr Sally Jones PhD'.

I also think that some people choose to use the form which just places 'letters' after their names to avoid confusion with medical doctors. Esp. in professional situations.

An example is that as a teacher, I probably won't use my PhD to be called 'Dr' (when I get it that is!-three or four years from now). I will probably still call myself Ms Pjlu professionally but in professional written communications and dealings I will use
Ms PJLU PhD, MEd etc, etc.

(Unless I get work as an academic, or in the top level of educational systems or in government-probably unlikely at this stage in my life-sigh!).

Cathie, you need to get the courage to go to a counsellor and sort out your feelings about your relationship breakdown and your former partner's marriage and your beliefs about
whether you can do the PhD.

You can do a PhD but doing one is hard, and there are times when you just have to do work on it despite the strong feelings that you want to give it up. Even if you don't work on it very hard all the time. If you keep doing some work, you can then add more once you feel better and you haven't lost too much time-you have kept thinking about it and working on it and making progress-even if that progress went slowly sometimes.

Having a relationship break down and then seeing your partner with someone else is a feeling that can be crushing, especially if this makes you feel as if you weren't good enough. You have to actively try to disengage from this feeling-it isn't a real or true feeling but it can be very hard to stop it. A counsellor will be really helpful in helping you see your way beyond the grief that you feel over your broken relationship (even if it was you who wanted the relationship to end).

When people leave us and then take up with another person-we see them and we are still alone, we sometimes feel as if we have been abandoned and this is a very profound and strong feeling but it doesn't last and there are things we can do so that we don't keep this same feeling. But we do need to get some help often to help us out of the negative cycle.
I hope you seek out some help Cathie and things improve for you.

@Fantastic-what a great story. Hope things go well for you and the course of your studies are smooth:)

In addition to the great advice from Bewildered, I'd add that it can be really easy to 'put off' the lit review to some extent, so be careful about finding reasons not to start it.
You will change and adjust the review later on no matter what, but then you will change everything, because that is what happens with a PhD.

It doesn't just follow neat and tidy steps-which can be very frustrating for organised planners. I think a lot of the material and writing generated in a PhD actually is 'waste' that is finally disgarded from the thesis write up.

However, this isn't really wasted-it is the extra material generated in any creative endeavour that is distilled into the final product. And some of those ideas and perceptions that couldn't go into the product might be useful for other ideas or projects later on.

I think you can do it but it is definitely pretty difficult. I work as the Middle School curriculum coordinator (which is a bit like a deputy head but not quite as full on) in a school. The role is very much full time, and I do my PhD part-time.

It is a real challenge made a little easier by the sorts of holidays teachers get. And by the fact that in two years when I really need to write up a reasonable draft, I will be able to take about 3 months full time leave to get a head start.

But often during peak times, such as reporting, starts and finishes of the year, and when any new curriculum change comes about -just about every other week it seems!:)-
I do very little on it bar thinking and a bit of reading or tweaking the lit review. I try to make up for this at other times by working intensely in long blocks.

Emotionally it can be a bit difficult as well, as you sort of have to just keep on with it through the most dispiriting times and moments. However, that being said, I am not going to chuck it in. It's a worthwhile topic-even if it just expands my own knowledge and expertise-and the challenge is a bit like long distance running-hurts like hell and sometimes you go fast and other times you stagger on or rest for a little while-but getting there in the end is a worthy aspiration.

Good luck-and don't forget as well, you could always apply and then defer your start date for a year to give yourself a chance to master the job a bit and just have a break from the Masters work.

Well done you!!! Have fun now Hu Hu-this is so well deserved.

Well done and congratulations. It is so good to read these sorts of stories. You must be so relieved and proud of yourself! Tremendous stuff coming through this sort of process...