This article explicates, in a concrete, step-by-step manner, some procedures that can be followed in phenomenologically analyzing interview data. It also addresses a number of issues that are raised in relation to phenomenological research.

Some guidelines for the phenomenological analysis of interview data

Research methods are plans used in the pursuit of knowledge. They are outlines of investigative journeys, laying out previously developed paths, which, if followed by researchers, are supposed to lead to valid knowledge. These paths are drawn on maps based on assumptions about the nature of reality and the processes of human understanding. The map developed for Western science during the past three centuries is based on the notion that reality consists of natural objects and that knowledge is a description of these objects as they exist in themselves. The purpose of the paths laid out on this map is to eliminate the distorting influence of personal perspective and the subjective properties of researchers.

Phenomenological research methods.

Quality control in qualitative research

This article presents a contextualized treatment of the current configuration of self, some of the pathologies that plague it, and the technologies that attempt to heal it. Of particular interest is the historical shift from the Victorian, sexually restricted self to the post-World War II empty self. The empty self is soothed and made cohesive by becoming "filled up" with food, consumer products, and celebrities. Its historical antecedents, economic constituents, and political consequences are the focus of this article. The two professions most responsible for healing the empty self, advertising and psychotherapy, find themselves in a bind: They must treat a psychological symptom without being able to address its historical causes. Both circumvent the bind by employing the life-style solution, a strategy that attempts to heal by covertly filling the empty self with the accoutrements, values, and mannerisms of idealized figures. This strategy solves an old problem but creates new ones, including an opportunity for abuse by exploitive therapists, cult leaders, and politicians. Psychology's role in constructing the empty self, and thus reproducing the current hierarchy of power and privilege, is examined.

Why the self is empty: Toward a historically situated psychology.

Since the late 1970s, the notion of empowerment has appeared with increasing frequency in discussion of preventive social and community intervention. While the idea of empowerment is intuitively appealing both for theory and practice, its applicability has been limited by continuing conceptual ambiguity. Based on a small ?G study of emerging citizen leaders in grassroots organizations, this article proposes a view of empowerment as a necessarily long-term process of adult learning and development. In this framework, empowerment is further described as the continuing construction of a multi-dimensional participatory competence. This conception encompasses both cognitive and behavioral change. Implications for practice are also addressed.

Citizen empowerment: A developmental perspective.

Psychology as a human science.

The Think Aloud Method in Descriptive Research

In this work, we contribute to the human science research paradigm now emerging internationally by describing four major human science research methods: the experiential, hermeneutical, perceptual psychological, and phenomenological. Each author has contributed to the development and utilization of one of these methodologies, while remaining conversant with the others. We recognize the unique value of each, but also are convinced that the human science approach has now attained the level of sophistication that makes a comparative examination of its various methodologies a timely endeavor. We have begun that task in this article by summarizing how each methodology addresses a common phenomenon, that of the experience of anxiety. Specifically, we summarize each method with regard to its research purpose, its formulation of a research question, its means of data collection, and its data analytic procedures.Although differences are evident, shared values and procedures are also clarified. All methods undersco...

Human Science Research Methods

Experimental psychology and the challenge of real life.

Humanistic psychology, as with any paradigm, is defined by its position with respect to matters of content, method, and approach. This article reviews how the humanistic paradigm defined itself in ...

Christopher M. Aanstoos

Papers

Psychology as a human science.

The Think Aloud Method in Descriptive Research

Human Science Research Methods

Experimental psychology and the challenge of real life.

The Relevance of Humanistic Psychology