Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Rachel Shaw Aston University r'l'shawaston'ac'uk

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Interpretative Phenomenological AnalysisRachel
ShawAston Universityr.l.shaw_at_aston.ac.uk
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Objectives

• To introduce the theoretical underpinnings of IPA
• To outline the relationship between IPA in
  Psychology
• To describe the appropriate research questions,
  sampling data collection methods
• To describe analytic process
• To offer the opportunity to do some IPA
• To offer some suggestions for emphasis in
  teaching
• To offer some suggestions for supervising IPA
  projects

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Assumptions aims of IPA

• People are self-interpreting beings (Taylor,
  1985)
• Interpretative activity - sense-making is
  central to human experience action
• Central concern how do people make sense of
  their experiences?
• Dual Aim - To provide
• an in-depth exploration of peoples lived
  experiences
• a close examination of how people make sense
• of these experiences

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Theoretical underpinnings of IPA

• Phenomenology
• Concerned with how things appear to us in
  experience
• As individuals, how do we perceive talk about
  objects events
• This is in contrast with
• The attempt to produce an objective statement
  about the object or event in itself
• Examining the event or object in terms of
  pre-existing conceptual or scientific criteria

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Theoretical underpinnings of IPA

• Hermeneutic inquiry
• Concerned with people as interpreting and
  sense-making individuals
• IPAs aim is achieved through interpretative
  activity on the part of the researcher
• Research is a dynamic process the researcher
  has an active role
• Researcher aims to assume an insider perspective
  (Conrad, 1987) to stand in the shoes of the
  participant

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Theoretical underpinnings of IPA

• Double hermeneutic (dual interpretation process)
• Access to the participants experience depends
  on, is complicated by, the researchers own
  conceptions
• These processes are necessary in order to make
  sense of that other personal world through a
  process of interpretative activity
• the participants are tying to make sense of
  their world the researcher is trying to make
  sense of the participants trying to make sense of
  their world.
• (Smith Osborn, 2003 51)

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Theoretical underpinnings of IPA

• Idiography
• Focusing on the particular rather than the
  universal
• Nomothetic studies work at the group/population
  level to make probabilistic claims/predictions
• Idiographic studies work at the individual level
  to make specific statements about those
  individuals
• NOT either/or, rather we argue for (a) the
  intensive examination of the individual in her or
  his own right as an intrinsic part of
  psychologys remit, and (b) that the logical
  route to universal laws structures is an
  idiographic-nomothetic one
• (Harré, 1979 cited in Smith Eatough, 2006 326)

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Basic principles of IPA

• Inductive rejects the hypothesis in favour of
  open-ended questions
• Idiographic works at the individual level
• Assumes agency to the individual
• Individuals actively interpret their experiences
  their world (in fact we cant not interpret)
• It is concerned with understanding individuals
  lived experiences how they make sense of those
  experiences
• It is data-driven (bottom-up) prioritises
  participants accounts
• Research is a dynamic process the researcher is
  active in the research

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IPA and Psychology

• Cognition is a central analytic concern
• Social cognition a concern with unravelling the
  relationship between what people think
  (cognition), say (account) and do (behaviour)
  (Smith Eatough, 2006325)
• IPA method is in contrast to cognitive
  psychology
• Cognitive psychology as a science of
  meaning-making rather than information processing
  (Bruner, 1990)

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Research questions in IPA

• Open-ended questions (rather than hypotheses) to
  gain rich detailed descriptions of the
  phenomenon being studied
• How do people make the decision whether or not to
  have a genetic test?
• What does jealousy feel like?
• How do people view voluntary childlessness?
• Focus significant issues either ongoing or at a
  critical juncture in life
• Identity, sense of self
• Hot cognition current issues, emotive,
  dilemmatic
• Cool cognition longer term, reflection across
  life course
• Key meticulous exploration of lived experience
  of the participant

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Sampling data collection

• Small sample sizes because of the case-by-case,
  idiographic approach to analysis
• How many? It depends on
• Ones commitment to the case study level of
  analysis
• The richness of the individual cases
• How one wants to compare or contrast cases
• The pragmatic restrictions one is working under
• Data collection needs to focus on experience
  recognise multiple influences on that experience
• Semi-structured interviews

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Doing the analysisIdentifying Themes

• Identify themes in the first case
• This involves lots of reading re-reading
• Write comments in the left margin summaries,
  associations, connections, preliminary
  interpretations
• Document emerging theme titles in the right
  margin these need not be definitive but should
  enable you to articulate something about the
  concept identified

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Theme Clusters

• Looking for connections list the emerging themes
  look for connections between them
• Cluster themes together into super-ordinate
  themes made up of subordinate themes
• Create a table of master themes
• Ensure each theme is represented by data in the
  transcript to avoid researcher bias

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Continuing with Other Cases

• Continue with other cases
• Start with the master themes from case 1 look
  for further evidence in case 2
• Be ready for new themes to emerge in case 2
• The process is cyclical go back case 1 to see if
  they are represented there also
• Be prepared to go over the phases of analysis
  several times, going back over transcripts
  rethinking theme clusters

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Writing Up

• This is the final stage of analysis
• The aim is to translate your themes into a
  narrative account
• Deciding which themes to focus on requires you to
  be selective
• The choice is not purely based on prevalence but
  also on the richness of particular passages that
  highlight the theme how the theme illuminates
  other aspects of the account

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Tips for emphasis in teaching

• IPA is about individuals experiences
• IPA is interpretative we want participants to
  reflect on interpret their experiences in the
  interview we want to interpret them in the
  analysis
• Interviews are analysed on a case-by-case basis
  (there may only one case a case study)
• Doing IPA is a creative process the active
  interpretative role of the researcher is valued
• An IPA analysis usually reveals something about
  participants meaning-making processes how an
  event or state impacts on identity

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Tips for supervision

• IPA involves in-depth systematic exploration of
  lived experiences
• Homogeneous sample people who have had the same
  experience
• Interviews need to focus on concrete experiences
  participants reflections on those experiences
• Detailed transcription coding is not always
  necessary
• Analysis is time consuming dont leave it too
  late

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Key references

• Smith, J.A. Eatough, V. (2006) Interpretative
  phenomenological analysis. In G.M. Breakwell, S.
  Hammond, C. Fife-Schaw J.A. Smith (Eds)
  Research Methods in Psychology (3rd edition).
  London Sage.
• Smith, J.A. Osborn, M. (2004) Interpretative
  phenomenological analysis. In G.M. Breakwell (Ed)
  Doing social psychology research. Oxford BPS
  Blackwell.
• Smith, J.A. Osborn, M. (2003) Interpretative
  phenomenological analysis. In J.A. Smith (Ed)
  Qualitative Psychology a practical guide to
  research methods. London Sage.