Ethical Methodology Of Phenomenology

Chapter three discusses the research design and methodology used for the current study. The chapter begins with a discussion of the rational for choosing a qualitative design. Qualitative methodologies that were considered for the current study are discussed next followed by the rational for selecting a focused ethnography. Ethical considerations will then be discussed and the researcher describes how principles of autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence, justice and respect were adhered to. The chapter continues with a discussion about sampling, recruitment and data collection. The pilot study and the interviews are then discussed followed by the data analysis process. Finally the chapter concludes with a discussion on rigor and how it was

Various qualitative research methods were examined to indentify which approach would best meet the aims and objectives of this study including phenomenology, case study, grounded theory and ethnography.

Phenomenology is concerned with the experiences of people within their life world (Polit and Beck, 2011). Phenomenology is useful when the topic being researched is related to the life experience of humans and when the topic is poorly understood (Streubert and Carpenter, 2011). Phenomenology has been used by a number of researchers examining bereaved parents’ experiences (Samuelsson et al. 2001; Adolfsson et al. 2004; Aldolfsson, 2010). Each of these studies added valuable information to the body of research examining parents’ experiences of pregnancy loss. There are two main types of phenomenological research used by nurses and midwives; descriptive phenomenology, guided by Husserl (1970) and interpretive or hermeneutic phenomenology guided by Heidegger (1996) as cited in Todres and Holloway

When utilising descriptive phenomenology the researcher must attempt to suspend their preconceptions about a topic (known as bracketing), this is to allow the researcher to approach the topic with ‘fresh eyes’ (Todres and Holloway, 2006). Utilising the process of bracketing is required throughout the research process in order to ensure that the researcher’s previous knowledge, opinions and beliefs do not influence the description of the phenomenon under investigation (Streubert and Carpenter, 2011). Given the researchers experience in caring for bereaved parents and in working in maternity care as a Midwife, the process of bracketing would be very challenging. Sun et al., (2014) set out to gain an understanding of parents’ decision-making process and the experience of seeing their stillborn baby. A descriptive phenomenological approach was used, observation and in depth interviews were conducted and data was analysis using Giorgi’s methods. This study added valuable information to a subject matter that little was known about.