Hi all,
As part of my PhD research, I am investigating the culture and ethos of a particular group whilst also focusing on how lived experience and the backgrounds of my participants' influence their interpretations of the world and particular objects.
Initially, I was thinking of using Hermeneutic phenomenology as my theoretical perspective and ethnography as my methodology. However, given the nature of my research questions, methods that align more with phenomenology will be required to unearth lived experience.
I have found a few articles within the nursing discipline that use methods that align with both methodologies (phenomenology and ethnography), and then triangulate the data using both perspectives.
I would like to hear from others who have perhaps used a dual methodological approach or the views from others who believe the use of hermeneutic phenomenology and ethnography are a suitable/unsuitable combination in a singular piece of research.
Hi Cordelia,
I went to a conference for qualitative research during my PhD studies. I was confused and apologetic about my multiple methods....I was told by someone there. "Stop apologizing for what you are doing....methods are designed to systematically produce findings. Do what you need to do and then defend it"..I have never forgotten this. I thought it was excellent advice...and now expect my students to do the same when they use 'mixed methods'
Your supervisors need however to be careful in choosing examiners. Traditionalists tend to defend their territory rather than look at the merits of something new. One of my examiners basically came just short of failing my PhD because he wanted me to have done something different. The other (international), concluded that the PhD should have been awarded on the methodology alone, never mind the resultant theoretical contributions.
So my advice is : Choose methods to suit the kind of knowledge that needs to be added to the "ology" [which I use loosely as the theoretical knowledge you are aiming for]. Defend it with sound philosophical reasons for the approach.
While you still have to defend the entire set of approach and methods you use and rationalize the overall methodology, the process of producing a PhD by paper, may make more sense for you....each paper is an analysis that has its own methodology.
Dear Cordelia Stewart,
Hermeneutic phenomenology is one of the best methodologies for ethnography because one of the characteristics of hermeneutic phenomenology - as a methodology- is this: placing a phenomenon which we want to investigate (here an ethos) within its world (cultural-historical-geographic context of that ethos). For doing this we can do two methodological-practical work:
1- Sinking to that ethos’ world (being-in-the-world) by doing a deep interview and – if it is possible – by living with that ethos. We do them for viewing the world - and what is within it- from that ethos’ perspective.
2- Leaving our world as researchers by not imposing our world\perspectives\worldview\values on that ethos which we are investigating. We do them for not viewing the world of that ethos from our perspective. We can do it through the extraction of theories and judgments from reality (lived realities of that ethos), not viewing realities of that ethos from theoretical perspectives which do not belong to that ethos.
Cordelia Stewart Karen Caister One of my foreign examiners did the same. He raised the objections that why I used PLS SEM approach... He wanted me to apply CB SEM approach due to which I had to face major changes.
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