Reflections on Certain Qualitative and Phenomenological Psychological Methods


Book Description

One could describe the status of psychological research today as one in which qualitative methods based upon diverse philosophies have been developing and advancing at a fast pace. It is a time therefore when reflections on this state of affairs are appropriate. The five essays in this book are all concerned with qualitative methods and their philosophical backgrounds. Briefly, the first essay contrasts the relative merits of the three most used philosophical bases for qualitative methods: empirical philosophy, hermeneutics, and Husserlian descriptive phenomenology. The second essay tries to resolve the tensions between descriptive and interpretive methods. Both are of service to science, but they relate to different conditions. The third essay discusses certain pitfalls that should be avoided when conducting psychological research on oneself. The fourth essay describes the extension of certain guidelines when using the descriptive phenomenological method. The fifth essay challenges the assumption of naturalism for psychology and argues for the development of a non-naturalistic method for psychology.




Phenomenology and Psychological Research


Book Description

This book is both a theoretical justification of a phenomenological and human scientific approach to psychological research and a presentation of findings in the areas of cognitive, clinical, and social psychology.The book is important because it is the most sustained statement to date about a phenomenological approach to psychological research along with original findings to compare with mainstream psychology in crucial areas of psychology: cognitive, clinical, and social psychology.Phenomenology and Psychological Research is further clarification of the phenomenological approach to psychological research along with examples of application in four different content areas: learning and thinking (both examples of alternative approaches to cognitive processes), self-deception (clinical psychology), and criminal victimization (social psychology). As such, it gives the reader who is merely curious about the possibilities of phenomenological approaches a good opportunity to evaluate its fruitfulness, whereas those who are already sympathetic to the approach will find a greater articulation of the theory behind the procedures. Lastly, the reader will find in this study an example of a descriptive and qualitative approach to psychological research that claims to meet both phenomenological and human scientific criteria. It is one of the first books to make such a claim about psychological research.




Psychology as a Human Science


Book Description

Psychology as a Human Science: A Phenomenologically Based Approach is a classic text in the field of psychology that is as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1970. Giorgi's text helped establish the philosophical foundation humanistic psychology and the human science approach. He provides an important critique of traditional methods in psychology while providing his alternative. This new version includes a new introduction by Giorgi along with a new Foreword by Rodger Broomé.




Finding the Phoenix


Book Description

A journal of self-discovery, Finding the Phoenix, by author Dr. Karel James Bouse introduces seven tools for transformative self-discovery, including how to deconstruct one’s lenses, consciousness and identity; use expressive arts to access hidden elements of the self; connect with nature from a mystical perspective; find the meaning of your dreams; use Neo-shamanic techniques for interdimensional self-exploration, demystify anomalous experiences and phenomena; and construct a personal mythology to discover your life purpose. Used synergistically, these tools facilitate a deep, personal investigation that bridges and integrates the conscious with the unconscious, and the mythic with the mundane. Bouse provides you with background information based in academic, scientific, and professional psychological research, and detailed exercises as you follow the fictional “Lucy” through a series of workshops designed to help you find the phoenix of your authentic self. Finding the Phoenix offers a combination of thoughtful instructions, rich personal narrative from the perspective of Lucy, and experiential exercises designed to evoke insight, creativity, and personal development.




Existential Psychology East-West (Volume 2)


Book Description

Existential-Psychology East-West (Volume 2) emerged from continued dialogues on existential psychology, particularly existential-humanistic psychology, in Southeast Asia. This volume includes authors from Southeast Asia, India, Africa, Europe, and the United States, including Xuefu Wang, Louise Sundararajan, Mark Yang, Louis Hoffman, Al Dueck, Albert Chan, Donna Rockwell, Ilene Serlin, Rainbow Tin Hung Ho, Rochelle Suri, Meili Pinto, and Anthony K. Nkyi. The book is divided into three sections: 1) Theory and Practice, 2) Applications and Case Illustrations, and 3) Existential Perspectives on Cultural Myths. The first three chapter focus on Zhi Mian Therapy, an indigenous Chinese approach to existential psychology. These chapters are the most comprehensive overview of Zhi Mian Therapy in English to date. Other theory chapters include a discussion of international psychology from an existential-humanistic perspective, the concept of Sui Wu Fu Xing, men’s violence against women, Sunyata, and the concept of savoring. The second section focuses on a variety of case illustrations to illuminate the practice of existential therapy in different cultural contexts. The final section expands upon existential perspectives of myths as developed in Rollo May’s The Cry for Myth and Existential Psychology East-West (Volume 1). Seven myths from different cultural contexts are examined from an existential perspective. Along with Volume 2, Existential-Psychology East-West (Volume 2) represents a landmark contribution to the existential psychology literature.




Markers of Psychosocial Maturation


Book Description

This book advances an integrative approach to understanding the phenomenon of psychosocial maturation. Through a rigorous, dialectically-informed interpretation of psychoanalytic and humanistic-existential-phenomenological sources, Mufid James Hannush distils thirty essential markers of maturity. The dialectical approach is described as a process whereby lived, affect-and-value laden polar meanings are transformed, through deep insight, into complementary and integrative meta-meanings. The author demonstrates how responding to the call of maturation can be viewed as a life project that serves the ultimate purpose of living a balanced life. The book will appeal to students and scholars of human development, psychotherapy, social work, philosophy, and existential, humanistic, and phenomenological psychology.




Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology


Book Description

Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology equips students and researchers in psychology and the social sciences to carry out qualitative data analysis, focusing on four major methods (grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, discourse analysis and narrative analysis). Assuming no prior knowledge of qualitative research, chapters on the nature, assumptions and practicalities of each method are written by acknowledged experts. To help students and researchers make informed methodological choices about their own research the book addresses data collection and the writing up of research using each method, while providing a sustained comparison of the four methods, backed up with authoritative analyses using the different methods.




The Descriptive Phenomenological Method in Psychology


Book Description

This comprehensive work from one of the leading thinkers in humanistic psychology provides a thorough discussion of the phenomenological foundations for qualitative research in psychology. Amedeo Giorgi's examination operates out of the intersection of phenomenological philosophy, science, and psychology; such a multidisciplinary approach allows him to challenge several long-standing assumptions about the practice of psychology. Giorgi asserts that empiricism is not the best philosophy for grounding the science of psychology--rather, the broader phenomenological theory of science permits more adequate psychological development. Giorgi draws from Husserl's philosophical principles the reasons for conducting research in psychology, and then offers practical steps for applying a phenomenological method and real examples of applications of the method. In fact, Giorgi proposes a method that is theoretically grounded in phenomenological philosophy and yet treats empirically derived data. This is a rigorous but open qualitative research method that is tolerant of pararational givens as well as one that is supportive of rational criteria. The analyses and methods presented in Phenomenological Method in Psychology will be attractive to psychologists, phenomenologists, and researchers involved in qualitative research throughout social and human science disciplines.




The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology


Book Description

One of our bestselling handbooks, The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology, is back for a second edition. Since the first edition qualitative research in psychology has been transformed. Responding to this, existing chapters have been updated, and three new chapters introduced on Thematic Analysis, Interpretation and Netnography. With a focus on methodological progress throughout, the chapters are organised into three sections: Section One: Methods Section Two: Perspectives and Techniques Section Three: Applications In the field of psychology and beyond, this handbook will constitute a valuable resource for both experienced qualitative researchers and novices for many years to come.




Hermeneutic Phenomenology in Education


Book Description

Hermeneutic phenomenology is a combination of theory, reflection and practice that interweaves vivid descriptions of lived experience (phenomenology) together with reflective interpretations of their meanings (hermeneutics). This method is popular among researchers in education, nursing and other caring and nurturing practices and professions. Practical and adaptable, it can be at the same time poetic and evocative. As this collection shows, hermeneutic phenomenology gives voice to everyday aspects of educational practice –particularly emotional, embodied and empathic moments– that may be all too easily overlooked in other research approaches. By explicating, illustrating and demonstrating hermeneutic phenomenology as a method for research in education specifically, this book offers an excellent resource for beginning as well as more advanced researchers.